"My father stuck it to me all my life," complains Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), a callous, self-centered young hustler who feels he's been cheated out of his three million dollar inheritance. Left only with his late father's prized rose bushes and a vintage '49 Buick convertiable, Charlie soon uncovers yet another surprise - a brother he never knew he had. Discovering his autistic brother, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), in an institution, Charlie abducts him in a last-ditch attempt to extort his 'fair share' of the family estate. But what begins as an unconventional journey across the country evolves into a mystical odyssey of love and self-revelation and Raymond forces Charlie to grow beyond the limits of his handicapped heart.
