New Jersey high school senior Ben Cronin is a former juvenile delinquent, whose past criminal behavior was fueled by and for drug use. He credits the support of his now long time girlfriend Amy Miller and getting into competitive swimming as the primary reasons for turning his life around, which includes working part-time at the hospital where his single mother works. He has become the star swimmer of his high school team, so much so that scouts from Stanford University are coming in a week's time to watch Ben swim. Ben has a new swim fan in Madison Bell, a recent transfer student to Ben's high school. Despite Ben making it clear that he is in a committed relationship, Madison seduces him, the seduction to which he succumbs. They agree afterward that their encounter was a one-time only event, but Ben slowly comes to the realization that despite Madison's assertions to the contrary, she has more in mind with him. He feels her constant unspoken threats to expose their tryst and ultimately when he rebuffs her totally, unspoken threats to ruin his life in whatever means possible. Ben quickly learns to what extremes Madison is willing to go, especially when he finds out about her past. He has to figure out how to regain his life back from his known stalker, which is aided by the reason Madison is in New Jersey in the first place.

Sydneysider Danny Morgan, a simple man who works for a concrete company, is prone to daydreaming to escape his life; these daydreams often involve his unique ideas. Lately, those daydreams have been about his imminent vacation with long-time girlfriend, real-estate agent Trudy Dunphy--a camping trip he's been planning for a year. Eventually learning that Trudy lied to get out of the trip to spend time with a famous client, television sportscaster Sandy Upman, is just the latest manifestation that Trudy is drifting away from Danny, whom she sees as just a concrete man while she aspires to something or someone more exciting, like Sandy. With the vacation now a no-go leaving him with a couple of weeks free with nothing to do but let his mind wander, Danny, with an unexpected windfall of free giant balloons, ponders whether they, filled with helium and tied to a deckchair, would be able to lift him in the deckchair up into the air. Danny's balloon deckchair experiment will have not only a profound effect on him, but that of Glenda Lake of Clarence, a lonely parking-enforcement police officer who has felt lost in life, while Trudy also sees Danny's 15 minutes of fame as a possible restart to their relationship.

Shade is set in the world of poker hustlers working the clubs and martini bars of Los Angeles. The tale unfolds as a group of hustlers encounter "The Dean" and pull off a successful sting that results in their pursuit by a vengeful gangster.

Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall), Charley Waite (Kevin Costner), Mose Harrison (Abraham Benrubi), and Button (Diego Luna) freegraze their cattle across the vast prairies of the West, sharing a friendship forged by a steadfast code of honor and living a life unencumbered by civilization. When their wayward herd forces them near the small town of Harmonville, the cowboys encounter the corrupt Sheriff Poole (James Russo) and kingpin rancher Denton Baxter (Sir Michael Gambon), who govern the territory through fear, tyranny, and violence. Boss and Charley find themselves inextricably drawn towards an inevitable showdown, as they are forced to defend the freedom and values of a lifestyle that is all too quickly vanishing. Amidst the turmoil, life suddenly takes an unexpected turn for the loner Charley when he meets the beautiful and warm spirited Sue Barlow (Annette Bening), a woman who embraces both his heart and his soul.

An emotionally broken woman, Kathy, suddenly finds herself homeless after her house is wrongly repossessed and auctioned. Seeking respite from his marriage, Lester, a sympathetic sheriff's deputy comes to the aid of Kathy and becomes intimately involved in her situation. Soon, Behrani, a proud emigrant Iranian and his family move into the house only to find their new lives burdened by harassment from Lester and Kathy as they attempt to reclaim her former home. The once prosperous colonel denies Kathy's pleas for he knows his recent purchase promises a profitable return and a better future for his adolescent son and his wife. But latent consequences lie beneath Behrani's well intentioned plan as Kathy's emotions spiral out of control and her actions spark a tragic chain of events that will leave no resident unscathed in the House of Sand and Fog.