Emma Moriarty is a 33-year-old, divorced mother who moves to a rural Arizona town to make a living by training and boarding horses.

A romance between them seems unlikely because of Murphy's age and because Emma allows her ex-husband, Bobby Jack Moriarty, to move back in with her and their 12-year-old son Jake.

While refusing to help her outright with charity or personal loan, Murphy gives a part-time job to Jake and buys a horse with her assistance, boarding it with Emma and encouraging others to do the same.

Field and Ritt fought Columbia to cast Garner, whom then studio viewed at that point as primarily a television actor, despite having enjoyed a flourishing film career in the 1950s and 60s and having co-starred in the box-office hit Victor/Victoria in 1982.

[9] Filming took place on location in Florence, Arizona, and the town's preserved Main Street appears throughout the movie.

[12] Murphy's Romance received Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role (James Garner) and for Best Cinematography (William A. Fraker).