Lily Owens is a young girl who lives on the peach farm that her abusive father owns. Rosaleen is a black woman hired by Lily's father to be a stand in mother for Lilly. Rosaleen insults some of the biggest racists in their town. Lily and Rosaleen run away to a town Lily believes that her mother once lived in. They go to live with the three Boatwright sisters on their honey farm. She finds solace in their mesmerizing world of beekeeping.

During the nineteen sixties, a bouncer, whose nightclub closes for renovations, finds a temporary employment as a driver for black pianist Don Shirley going on a tour into the Deep South states.

In 1962 Baltimore there are changes in the air. Plus-sized teen Tracy Turnblad, with big hair and even bigger heart, has only one passion, to dance. She wins a spot on the local TV dance program, "The Corney Collins Show" and is transformed overnight from outsider to irrepressible teen celebrity. The trendsetting Tracy aims to win the heart of teen-dream Link Larkin and stand up for what she believes in.