Trucks, an aging boxer, breaks his daughter, Claudia, out of a children's home in Wisconsin one night during the dead of winter. She is a winsome, feisty little girl who tries to hold her father to account, and Trucks loves her unconditionally. He gives her used hearing aids to help with her deafness, and they begin hitchhiking to Nevada. Claudia's mother, an addict, has disappeared and is probably dead. Their first ride takes them to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. They have only $30. They meet a number of people on their journey, including June, a woman about Trucks' age who was abandoned by her husband, and Gerald, an older rancher in Montana who offers them a place to stay, an offer Trucks refuses. Trucks is unable to find work, except for boxing—he is trapped in an activity for which he is no longer suited. Depressed, confused, and his mind no longer reliable, Trucks steals a car so that he and Claudia can drive east.