It is the 1970’s in Stonecutter, California, a town that offers few opportunities. Making matters worse, blacks and whites live on opposite ends of the spectrum geographically and economically. For Isaac "Ike" Burns and sense of boredom and hopelessness permeates his life. As he states, "People in this town exist, but no one is really living."

He often discusses the idea of leaving—with his girlfriend, Aurora and friends Bones and Stevie.

One day he stumbles across a travel brochure for Omaha, Nebraska and reading it piques his interest. He sees a cross-country move as an opportunity to experience a more meaningful life. After discussing it, the quartet begins planning their journey, which is wrought with potential pitfalls: A thuggish hanger-on named Mac; his promiscuous, troublesome girlfriend Falecia and a narcissistic pimp/drug dealer known as Pinch.

When several dangerous situations hit close to home, they decide to embark on their journey to the Midwest. Along the way they learn that interdependence is vital to their success.