( there be spoiler ) drive down a lonely country road one rainy afternoon joanna kndall and margaret colin and be distract for a brief moment and run down a little girl rid a bicycle on the side of the roadway . do what she can to keep the injured youngster comfortable joanna go to call for help at a local service station . before she can give her name joanna hang up the phone in order to get back to the girl and see if she all right while it then and there when the nightmare begin for joanna . heart wrench drama that can effect any one of u when you try to do the right thing but be influence by the word and feeling of those around you . get back to the accident site joanna see it cordoned off by the highway police . before she can tell them what happen and and her involvement in it and joanna start to have second think about turn herself in . what would at first have be a tragic accident turn out to be a hit and run with joanna facing time behind bar and if catch . even far bad she have to live with herself in what she do see almost every day the family of the little girl she run down kelly corey and dallas deremer and who go to the same school a her two daughter mindy and holly and gretchen esau and kira posey . joanna life start to come apart a she try to keep the truth from her friend and family and not to mention the eaton police and of what she be involve with in little kelly accident . you can easily see how the word of her friend and neighbor as well a her husband doug and drew phillbury and about the hit and run and effect joanna . it be those word that have joanna unable to bring herself to admit what she do not just for her own concern but her two daughter and her husband as well . feel that they will be shun by the people that they know as friend as well a neighbor for year . joanna on the verge of lose her mind try to implicate her friend nancy grayson and sherry hursey and in kelly hit and run accident by try to plant her earing and that she lose in joanna house and at the accident site . it then that she realize what she do and suddenly stop and keep her from make an already bad situation even bad and not want to have kelly accident but also innocent nancy freedom and reputation on her conscience as well . margraet colin give a stunning performance a the guilt ridden joanna kendall and you can really feel for her see how she be eat up inside and not know just what to do . want at first to turn herself in to the police a series of miscalculation cause joanna to become a fugitive from the law . when she eventually do joanna become the most hated and despised person in eaton . not be herself and when still at large and joanna husband start to feel that she either back to smoking or even have an affair . never in a million year would doug have think that joanna be the person who run down little kelly and leave her to die on that rain soak road . the look on his face and with his mouth quivering and when he find out the truth say it all . the last few minute of the movie take a lot out of you know what joanna be go through and not to downplay the suffering of the injured kelly corey and her parent and and how she now have to face the music for what she do and have to live with it for the rest of her life .