Al, a burned-out, milquetoasty, middle-aged engineer, nears his emotional breaking point when his rural out-of-town job falls through. Alone and shiftless, he stays on the road with vague hopes of recapturing the excitement of his boyhood summers at scenic Splatchee Lake, but what he finds instead is inspiration from the colorful lakeside locals, including the Kid, an ininhibited coonskin-capped junkman. The third effort from acclaimed independent auteur Di Cillo ( Living in Oblivion ), who cut his teeth as a cinematographer for Jim Jarmusch.