73-year-old Alvin Straight from Iowa embarks on an incredible journey. When he hears that his brother Lyle, with whom he has had no contact since an argument ten years ago, is seriously ill, Alvin decides to reconcile with him. As he has neither a driver's license nor his full eyesight and doesn't want anyone to drive him, the stubborn pensioner drives the 400 miles to Wisconsin himself - on a motorized lawnmower with a homemade trailer.