Peter Bayle - heavy drinker, philosopher, scholar, anemic lover - is in Kansas, writing a feature on middle America''s newfound love for hockey. Along with sportsfans, however, he meets a morphine-injecting reverend, a reviled reporter, and a drug salesman. Obsessed by his self-destructive new friends, Bayle abandons the project and returns home to confront a future and a girlfriend he may no longer want.