Evelyn Couch, a timid, unhappy housewife in her 40s, meets elderly Ninny Threadgoode in an Anderson, Alabama, nursing home where Evelyn's husband Ed's Aunt Vesta who has dementia is also staying. Over several encounters with Evelyn, Ninny tells her the story of the now abandoned town of Whistle Stop, and the people who lived there. The film's subplot concerns Evelyn's dissatisfaction with her marriage, her life, her growing confidence, and her developing friendship with Ninny. The narrative switches several times between Ninny's story, which is set between World War I and World War II, and Evelyn's life in 1980s Birmingham, Alabama.