Earl McByrne is at odds with the world - and also with himself -- never sure which of them is crazier. On his own at 16, a high school drop-out with little assurance of who he is or will become, Earl joins the Navy, trusting that it will make a man of him. But he fares no better in the hands of the minions of Uncle Sam than he had in the charge of his abusive mother and step-father. His unexpected early discharge sets him adrift, looking for his footing...