A man named Barry leaves his wife and children in NYC to drive around the West, looking for work. He visits a small run-down town where his maternal grandfather—who his mother hated because he left her family—lived. He goes to a bar called The Virginian, where a waitress, at first disinterested, becomes friendly at the mention of his grandfather and gives him directions to his home, where he once collected cars. On the way, Barry sees a group of children waving to him from across the prairie. He stops to help the children. One is bleeding from the eye, having injured it setting off firecrackers. He takes the child back to town, where his mom rushes him to a doctor. A young girl with a pink blanket tries to talk to him but her mother is wary of strangers and takes her inside. He finally sees his grandfather's former home, where he finds hundreds of cars glinting in the light, like a monument. He returns to The Virginian, where he learns the boy will lose his eye and the waitress invites him to come stay at her home. The two have sex and he stays the night. It's the first time he's ever cheated on his wife, Polly. He thinks maybe it is time to admit to himself he has left Polly and his children for good. In the morning, he talks to the woman, who has a child herself, about potentially staying in the town, and she becomes upset and urges him to go home to his wife and kids. Driving out of town, he finds a broken down, abandoned school bus. On the bus is the blanket of the girl whose mother was worried he might kidnap her.