Patrice Powell is a New York-based magazine writer for European Art magazine. She reluctantly returns to her native Iowa to write a story about the death of Nan Wood Graham - the famous face of American Gothic. In returning to Iowa to research the story, she learns about her own connection to Nan Wood Graham, and the historic Stone City Art Colony. She makes a discovery that will change how the art world perceives American Gothic, and in doing so, changes how she perceives herself and her past.