Elmo is a teenage boy whose parents are dead. He is closest with his grandfather, who owns an orchard and has pet peacocks. His grandfather originally viewed the peacocks as a symbol of prosperity. Elmo does well in school and works in the orchard, but has a somewhat antagonistic relationship with his recently-married older brother, James. Elmo observes the domestic violence in Greta and James's relationship, and often thinks about the connections between people and the value of relationships. Elmo takes up competitive boxing, and gains James's encouragement when he wins a match with his family in attendance, although James made fun of him for it before. While Elmo is becomes more popular as a boxer, his grandfather warns against it. He says that, in the long run, Elmo will actually harm himself by winning fights. Elmo considers this, and decides to quit the sport. When Elmo starts to date a girl named Betty Briscoe, he wonders again at the connections between them and between him and her family. On their first date, he ends up in a fight with a drunk James and James's friend Claude. He is the clear victor. Betty is scared away, but later resumes dating him. Meanwhile, his grandfather gets sicker. Elmo tries to connect with his grandfather's sister because he asks about her, but it turns out she has died. Elmo and Betty sleep together, but Elmo is detached from all the emotional relationships in his life, except for the one with his grandfather. He does not even feel a connection to his parents. His mother ran away when he was small, and his father committed suicide, leaving a young Elmo to discover his body. Eventually, Elmo's grandfather dies, but Elmo struggles to accept it. In the end, he takes out his gun and murders his grandfather's beloved pet peacocks before he burns them all in a pile.