United States, 1937. In the middle of the Great Depression, 22-year-old photographer John Clark is brought in by the Farm Security Administration to document the calamitous conditions of the Dust Bowl in the central and southern states, in order to bring the farmers' plight to the public eye. The more he shoots, the more John discovers the awful extent of their struggles, and comes to question his own role and responsibilities in this tragedy sweeping through the center of the country.