Jennifer's death resulted in a split of Jimmy's family: he lives with his mother Christine and stepfather Mr. Bateman while his older half-brothers Nick and Corey live with their father Sam. Exasperated by Jimmy's behavior, Christine and Mr. Bateman decide to commit Jimmy to an institution. Unwilling to allow it, Corey sneaks Jimmy out and they start traveling on foot for Los Angeles. Nick and Sam resolve to bring the boys back while in competition with Mr. Putnam, a greedy bounty hunter hired by Mr. Bateman and Christine to find Jimmy.