Norman and his family greet Jessie’s brother Neal at the train station when Neal arrives from the west coast. The first night, Neal tries to sneak out of the house to go drinking, so Norman accompanies him to a local bar. There they meet up with two of the bar’s summertime regulars: Long Bow, a Native American sheepherder and sharpshooter, and Old Rawhide, an ex-rodeo trick rider and prostitute.

Neal regales the company with lies about his hunting and trapping prowess. He buys drinks for everyone, and as Norman leaves, Old Rawhide shows interest in Neal. Norman reminds Neal that they are going fishing in the morning.

The next morning, Neal is still in bed when Paul arrives to go fishing. Paul tells Florence, Neal’s mother, to get him up despite his hangover. Florence, Jessie, Jessie’s brother Kenny and Kenny’s wife, Dorothy, load up Kenny’s truck for a family picnic and fishing trip on the Elkhorn river. Jessie instructs Norman not to leave Neal behind. Neal, however, sets himself up with a can of worms and refuses to try fly fishing with Norman.

As he fishes for small trout, Norman muses about whether he will try to talk to his brother today about the events of the other night and about the possibility of lending him money.