In Duluth, Minnesota, a university student named Martin rushes home from University to find a letter sent to him from his deceased friend Toby, who was killed while serving time in the Vietnam War. Toby addresses the letter facetiously to 'Deviate Recruitment' or Martin. Martin doesn't have time to open the letter.

Martin helps with the family dinner and endures a tense conversation with his father about communism and socialist medicine. Martin pretends not to know much about communism or the war, even though he knows quite a bit and has received letters and pictures from Toby.

Martin goes to study in the basement but only pretends to study; he is actually doing poorly in school. His father comes downstairs and comments that Martin is not fooling anyone by pretending to study. Martin contemplates what his father thinks of his poor grades, his involvement in a drunk driving accident, and the way he grew his hair long to mimic the Native Americans he worked with during the summer. He believes his father disliked the hair most of all. His father wanted to talk; Martin did not. They do not have a conversation. Martin reads the letter.

The following Thanksgiving is the first one without Toby. The conversations around the dinner table are primarily about the war and how Martin hasn't been drafted yet. Martin is drafted in December and will report to Texas in May. Martin expresses his anti-war beliefs and how he can't imagine killing people. Martin buys a Nash and drives it around. People call him a hippy and compare him to an "Indian" or Native American.

Martin interacts with his family and remembers a tense memory of his father from his childhood.

Martin leaves in the dark of the night with his belongings, letters, and savings.

He stops at a diner and is taunted by the waitress and truck drivers. He goes to the bathroom and sees a vulgar inscription on the wall about hippies, Indians, and buffalos.

Martin leaves the diner without paying, and the waitress and truck drivers follow him out of the restaurant. He gets inside his car and drives at the waitress to run her over. Seeing her horrified expression, Martin snaps out of his murderous rage and veers onto the road to miss the waitress. He angrily gets onto the road, swerving recklessly. They do not appear to follow. He continued driving, admitting to himself that he hadn't accidentally taken the wrong entrance to the highway and that the lights of Duluth were now south as he drove away from his hometown.