In 1987, musician Mike Sardina is hired to appear at the Wisconsin State Fair, filling in for a Don Ho impersonator who has undergone emergency surgery. After refusing to go on stage when the promoter stops him from performing his own material, he quits, just as Claire Stengl, a hairdresser by day and performer by night, is preparing to perform as Patsy Cline. In 1988, Mike and Claire meet again as neighbors and have a conversation in which she suggests he go down "the Neil Diamond route." He watches her sing and is immediately smitten. Mike returns home and starts practicing. The two decide to perform together and later begin a romantic relationship. After a misunderstanding about the target audience for their first gig, the show ends almost immediately in a brawl. Claire tells Mike he cannot be so stubborn about the band's future. He is upset about the failure, as he had the perfect night planned; in complaining about the night's ruination, he lets slip that he had planned to propose. Claire accepts the proposal Mike did not really make, but gets him to agree to always open with "Sweet Caroline" in the future. They end up with a string of successful shows, even opening for Pearl Jam in 1995. On Mike's request, Eddie Vedder joins them for their opening number, singing "Forever In Blue Jeans" with them, helping them win over the crowd (and Mike wins over his stepdaughter, Rachel, who had not been too sure of him). One day in 1999, Claire is hit by a car while planting flowers in the front garden of their house. She loses her left leg below the knee, and Mike suffers a stress-induced heart attack. Claire struggles with depression, pain, and addiction to pain medications in the aftermath. She begins fighting with Mike, thinking that he is seeing other people. Seeing the tension and stress in Mike, his daughter Angelina asks if he has been attending his AA meetings. After a bit more prodding, he confesses that singing does not mean anything when Claire is not there to sing with him. Angelina insists he take his alcoholism more seriously, so he agrees to start attending meetings. After Claire suffers a psychotic episode and is found wandering outside their home, Mike places her in a mental hospital to recover. Mike turns to blue-collar work to support Claire's hospitalization, while his stepdaughter Rachel reveals she is four months pregnant. She wants to give the baby to a couple who are having trouble conceiving, but has not found anyone willing to accept it. Mike takes a moment to ask who she needs to help her, and Rachel admits she needs her mom. Claire has a breakthrough and gradually regains the ability to walk and care for herself, returning home by Christmas and reconciling with Rachel. Claire pushes for "Lightning and Thunder" to go on gigging again, to recapture their popularity. She helps Rachel through her pregnancy and the adoption, and spending time with her family helps Claire adapt to her new prosthetic leg. Eventually, the Ritz in Milwaukee invites them to be a headliner on the same night Neil Diamond is playing a sold-out show nearby. Mike and Claire agree to the gig, only to learn later that Diamond wants to meet them in person afterward. While preparing for the gig, Mike experiences another heart attack and strikes his head on the sink. He recovers enough to perform, and the couple wishes each other good luck. Mike also tells Claire that none of this would be possible without her and that she is his everything. The concert is a massive success, and they drive to a local frozen custard place to celebrate and meet Neil Diamond. Claire gets out of the car and is given the news that Neil is on his way; she leans back into the car to get Mike and finds that he has died. Rachel writes her stepfather's eulogy, and Claire sings at his funeral. Some time later, Claire's son Dana plays a recording of Mike singing "Song Sung Blue" as his mother finishes planting the flowers she started years ago. 🎬 Enhanced by REEL