The film follows a group of people in Birch County, California, a fictionalized city/county which is very similar to real-life Los Angeles, California, who, after being ticketed for numerous traffic violations, and as a result lose their licenses and driving privileges (and their vehicles impounded), are ordered by Judge Nedra Henderson (Sally Kellerman) to attend a driving course program in order to get their licenses and their vehicles back. However, the assigned teacher for this course, Deputy Henry "Hank" Halik (James Keach), is also conspiring with the judge in a plan to make sure these offenders fail miserably, and at any cost, so they can sell their impounded vehicles. Their actions make one of the offended individuals, landscaper Dana Cannon (John Murray (actor)), very suspicious of their scheme and he enlists his fellow students to expose the plot.