Bernard and Eugene are tooling down a lonely stretch of highway in Iowa on their way to San Diego. Suddenly, a deer runs across the road! They swerve to avoid it and end up running off the road. Bernard’s truck is damaged. Fortunately, a mechanic/farmer named Kyle drives by them. Kyle tells them he can fix their truck. He also offers his home as lodging for Eugene and Bernard while they wait for the truck’s replacement parts to arrive.

Once there, Kyle introduces them to his wife, Sandra; his daughter, Carrie; and his son, Graham. Right away, it is obvious that there is tension between Kyle and Graham. Graham is interested in computers and big cities, while Kyle wants Graham to one day take over the garage and the farm. This conflict intensifies over the next several days. Things get bad when Graham puts his prize pig in his father’s station wagon and heads off down Route 24 to find a buyer. Graham is underage, so it doesn’t take the police long to pull him over and bring him and the pig home.

Graham and his dad have another fight. Graham is grounded indefinitely. Bernard and Eugene discuss the matter and agree to talk separately with father and son. Bernard tells Kyle that maybe he is overreacting, Graham is trying to tell him something. Kyle would be wise to listen. Meanwhile, Eugene talks with Graham. The two of them figure out how to blend Graham’s love of computers with working in his father’s garage. At first Kyle is unsure. But he soon realizes that Graham is trying to mend the relationship, and that he can do no less. After all, they are father and son.