Jake Preston, 40, an emotionally destitute migrant laborer hops trains and 'goes where the work is.' But something more keeps him running - his own haunting past. Through nostalgic flashbacks we learn of the intimate bond he formed in his youth with Farren McGraw, a fellow 17 year-old farm hand. When Farren dies a mysterious death, Jake feels guilty for not being able to save him. For twenty years he wanders with a broken heart. Like so many times before, Jake settles down for a time in a small roadside settlement in the Owens River Valleyt. Here, a chance encounter with David, a local delivery boy, brings Jake face to face with his own emotional destitution.