At the end of America's age of innocence, just six weeks before the murder of President John F. Kennedy, 17-year old Lee Moffit is told by his father to leave their Stillwater, Oklahoma, farm and never return. With $40 and a German Luger pistol in his pocket, Lee roars across Route 66 on his motorcycle toward California with dreams of becoming a movie stuntman. Following one misadventure after the next, Lee arrives in Venice Beach and is befriended by Iris Pond, a hippie with literary ambitions and a troubled past. Lee's hope to capture the California dream turns to despair and leads him to a life-defining moment.