Avram, and his coworker and friend, "Biggest" Ron, are discussing their lives as they float adrift on a small raft on the Pacific coast. Avram recollects Ron's stories of his life, then compares them with his own life, recounting his wanderings in the US looking for purpose and discovery. He tells of his encounters with various types of people, being arrested, and his arrival in Oregon, where he started working for a cannery and met Ron. Avram and Ron speculate at the chances of their own demise or survival, stranded at sea as they are, until eventually they spot and flag down a salmon boat. When they watch the boat go by, the two decide they would like to fish themselves, although Avram angers Ron by suggesting he should sell his motorcycle to buy a boat. Once Avram convinces Ron to join him, they return to shore, buy their own boat, and set out to learn how to fish. However, they end up capsizing and almost drowning, only barely making it to shore alive. After considering continuing to fish, Avram leaves Ron to work a traveling delivery job, but finds that he is haunted by loneliness among the Midwestern plains. Avram returns to Oregon, where he and Ron build their own fishing boat, and once it is finished, they sail out onto the coast, with Avram feeling more hopeful.