Louden Swain has just turned eighteen, this being the year he's going to make his mark in life, or as his friend Kuch calls it, his vision quest. His chosen goal is to wrestle and beat Brian Shute, known as the best high school freestyle wrestler in Washington state. Shute is undefeated in his high school career. The issue is that Louden has to drop two weight classes to do so. This quest is much to the chagrin of Louden's coach and teammates as although Louden is an inexperienced wrestler, he is naturally gifted and focused and was primed to win the state championship in his own weight class. Louden's single-mindedness in this quest changes when he meets Carla. An experienced twenty-one year old drifter, Carla moves into the Swain house temporarily while she is in town. Louden is immediately attracted to her, the attraction more difficult for him knowing that she is living under the same roof. Louden's other obstacles in achieving his year's goal are actually reaching the necessary weight by bout time, and even if he does whether his body can endure the stresses from this extreme weight loss.