A young mute woman and her child travel to New Zealand in the 1800s for an arranged marriage to a farmer. After the marriage she meets another man, and the competition for her love begins. Only one of the men realizes that her affections may be won through her beloved piano.

A successful jazz musician whose marriage is on the rocks, a man in black who threatens to expose him, a young mechanic with links to a mobster, and the mobster's moll are all riders on the lost highway, trapped in their worlds of desire, destiny and unknown destination.