Dane Barton, a twenty-two-year-old college dropout, languishes in a dead-end job at a twenty-four-hour convenience store. An only child of Milo and Beatrice Barton, Dane still lives at home with his parents in rural Hennepin County, west of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Dane's employment at the convenience store abruptly ends with an early morning robbery that sends him to the hospital and places him in conflict with his employer, Chester Reynolds, who struggles to rescue his three convenience stores from bankruptcy. After recovering from injuries incurred at the robbery, Dane refuses to return to the convenience store. He moves on with his life, accepting a position with a telemarketing firm where he meets Ashley Ryland, his first serious romantic relationship. From telemarketing, Dane moves into real estate sales, which takes him to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and a confrontation with his former employer, Chester Reynolds. In Mexico, Reynolds has sought refuge from prosecution for fraud and collusion back in the Twin Cities.