In 1978, Spencer (Spence) Edwards hasn't been on a date in over a year and is ultra-picky about who he'll ask out because he promised his mother to honor God. In their annual wager, his best friend bets that if Spence asked Patti, the most beautiful girl in the senior class, on a date, she would refuse him three times. When a teacher partners Patti with Spence in a class project and he ventures to ask her, she says 'no' (Strike One).

But after forbidden circumstances place them together, his stellar reputation takes a nosedive. Angry parents, horse rides, friends chanting rumors, semi-trucks, and snow storms generate friction that inserts a wedge between him and Patti. Romance must take a back seat while he sorts through a myriad of roadblocks to win the wager. God seems to have withdrawn, and after he's falsely accused of the unthinkable, he considers giving up … almost.