After two decades of dealing with alcoholism and wandering aimlessly, Mort Gleason sees his nephew Moo being assaulted while he’s in a drunken haze. This brief encounter with family jolts Mort back to reality, prompting him to return to the last place he remembers as home—Chicago. There, his sister Eileen resides in their family house with her sixteen-year-old son, Abe. It was Moo, Eileen’s older son who is now missing, that triggered Mort’s decision to reconnect with his family. Over the course of several weeks, Mort lingers outside the house, gradually reintegrating into family life. Meanwhile, Abe dreams of owning a sailboat and exploring far-off places. He diligently saves money and spots an ad for a boat named the Kathy II. Together with a friend, he devises a plan to purchase the boat from two shady characters who make a living by wholesaling liquor and occasionally running a boatyard.