On the shores of a rundown coastal town, a lonely figure is surfing: Mitch Yost, patriarch of a legendary surfing clan. He's watched by two men: Linc, a surf entrepreneur looking to sponsor Mitch's 13-year-old grandson Shaun; and a young stranger. Later, Mitch rinses off by his station wagon--and levitates. Meanwhile, a haunted veteran named Vietnam Joe drives the stranger to the Snug Harbor Motel, a decrepit structure overseen by Ramon, the Mexican caretaker. The motel has recently been sold to a lottery winner named Barry Cunningham, who plans to demolish it. But Snug Harbor has one holdout tenant: Butchie Yost, Shaun's father and son of Mitch, once a great surfer in his own right but now a drug-addicted derelict. After mistaking the stranger for a drug contact, Butchie learns that the youth's name is John--and that he has plenty of money and a platinum credit card. As Butchie heads off with John to make some purchases, Mitch's wife Cissy gets arrested for getting snippy with a megastore employee. Meanwhile, Shaun and Bill, a neurotic family friend, are detoured to Snug Harbor, where a motley scenario is unfolding. Butchie, who challenged Mitch over the phone, is now face-to-face with his irate father, but the pair's imminent clash is upstaged by Barry, who has a past with Butchie--and a gun.