A man named Duncan is interviewed for a documentary. He is asked what it is like to be a lineman.
Lineman Danny Ginner leaves his daughter Bailey to fix a downed power line with his brother Beau. The line is struck by lightning and Danny is rushed to the hospital. As Danny's wife Maggie drives to the hospital her car is struck by a truck, killing her. The next morning, Beau comforts Bailey, his niece.
Fifteen years later, Beau and Bailey are living together. She is a waitress at a diner and he is now head lineman. New neighbors Carline and Eugene move in; Eugene also works for the power company. Beau's workmates, including Pok' Chop, throw him a surprise birthday party.
Bailey's ex, Duncan, works for the same company and lives with his alcoholic mother. Duncan is trying to rekindle the relationship, to the dismay of another of Bailey's ex-boyfriends, Ron.
Eugene is suspicious of Carline due to her past infidelity. Ron tries to rekindle his relationship with Bailey but Carline helps her rebuff him. That night, Bailey sees Carline getting into a taxi while Eugene is at work.
Eugene finds numbers he does not recognize on Carline's phone. She claims they are Bailey's friends. Eugene tries to ask Bailey about them but is interrupted by Carline.
Carline notices that Bailey is pregnant. Bailey reveals that it is Duncan's baby.
Bailey and Duncan rekindle their relationship, to Beau's dismay, since he wants Bailey to go to college. Beau gets drunk in the bar and voices his opinion to Duncan until Pok' Chop intervenes.
A storm causes a power line to fall onto train tracks and derails a train. Beau's team are called out.
Eugene calls Carline to say he just wanted to hear her voice, then climbs an electrical tower and contemplates suicide. He decides against it and goes home.
As the storm worsens, Ron breaks into Carline's house and assaults her. Eugene arrives and brandishes a gun.
Bailey sees Eugene going into the house with a gun and goes to help. Eugene aims at Ron but is dazzled by Bailey's flashlight. Ron makes a grab for Eugene's gun but several shots ring out and he is killed. As Eugene and Carline reconcile they see that Bailey has been shot in the stomach. They rush her to the hospital. Pok' Chop sees her there and calls Beau.
The storm knocks out power to the city and the doctor cannot perform surgery. Pok' Chop calls Beau to say they need the power back on or Bailey will not survive. Beau relates this to Duncan.
At the central power hub Beau and Duncan see a fuse has popped. Beau climbs the tower to push down on the fuse with a hot stick but is not successful. Beau apologizes to Duncan for mistreating him, then jumps on to the fuse to force it to connect. Power is restored, but Beau is electrocuted. The doctor operates and saves Bailey's life.
In the interview, Duncan says Beau was the definition of a lineman and he hopes to be even half the lineman Beau was. He is called in on his radio for an approaching storm.
Two years later, Duncan, Bailey, their baby, and Pok' Chop are at a monument dedicated to all the local lineman that have lost their lives in the service. Danny and Beau's names are among them.
