Old man Thompson walks down a desert road towards Baker, California and is surprised when a young couple stops in their car to pick him up. He gets in and the driver, Ralph, offers to take him to Yermo where Thompson says he is headed to. Ralph and Myra are heading to Los Angeles as Myra is pressuring Ralph to invest in real estate as his competitor, Jack Patten, is doing. Before picking up Thompson, the couple had had an argument as Ralph does not want to get in the real estate game. As the three drive quietly in the desert Thompson fills the silence by telling the couple about how he found an untapped amethyst mine on the side of a nearby mountain. He produces a few amethysts to show to Ralph and Myra and tells them how he followed his wandering donkey to a ravine and found the amethysts not too far from there. Ralph stops thinking about the deal with real estate in Los Angeles and begins to question Thompson more about the mine. He seems interested in quick cash and while he doesn’t trust the old man completely, he thinks that there is a good chance that it’s somewhat true. Myra is also somewhat interested, but she thinks more of Jack Patten and what he would do in this scenario. She seems to know that she could leave Ralph for Jack if she wanted to, but she wants to see how the real estate deal goes first. She tells Ralph that he should wire Los Angeles from Baker as they approach Baker, but Ralph drives through and heads straight to Yermo, thus abandoning the idea of investing in real estate. Ralph tells Thompson that he will see his lawyer in Los Angeles and then he will contact Thompson about a deal with the amethyst mine. Thompson knows he needs money for the mine and is very excited at the prospect of working with Ralph. Myra seems irritated with Ralph and realizes that she can use this knowledge of the mine and go to Jack Patten with it, and leave Ralph behind. The sun begins to set over the desert and the three all marvel at the spectacular colors that the sky produces. As they approach Yermo they have to stop at a checkpoint for imported fruits and Thompson gets out of the car to go find his friend. As he walks through the town the locals see him and wonder what crazy story he has made up now. They know he has made up a lot of fake mines in the past and roped strangers into it and the locals think this time he must be lying about amethyst.