A memoir. Cam Blesi sets out from a beach in Connecticut on horseback, to cross America in 1969. He believes he is heading off on an adventure to fulfill a fantasy he has had since early childhood, to be a real cowboy, but that isn't what it is at all. He is actually running away from a whole host of issues, a tactic he has used often since childhood, and he is carrying some very heavy baggage with him as he leaves. He has never been aware of his penchant for fantasy, his way of perceiving the world, and what he has convinced himself of in this case is, in fact, just another one. His partner quits the third day out. Neither of them had any idea of how difficult such an undertaking could be, but Cam continues on until the horse goes lame just east of the Mississippi River. After having his horse shipped back east, he hitches a ride west and ends up in Aspen, Colorado. He begins schooling himself on becoming a real cowboy, imitating and hanging around with the real ones in the valley who befriend him. Eventually, he proves himself to them and earns their acceptance and respect, and considers himself one of them. His dream has become real and he comes to see himself as having always been one, but not for long. While looking for missing cattle up in the national forest on the opening day of elk hunting season, someone shoots, wounding his horse under him, and they fall off a cliff. Cam breaks his back and can no longer work as a cowboy. His boss lets him go and he begins to unravel emotionally, unable to depend on his physical strength to sustain his fantasy anymore. Unable to avoid reality any longer, he suffers a breakdown and lands in the mental lockup ward of a VA hospital. It is in this setting that he struggles to learn how to live in the real world and embrace life as it is. It also turns out to be the mechanism that creates an opening for healing and reconciliation with his mother.