Teenage Nola (Carpenter) has grown up on the road. She and her father (Ogg) live out of their beat-up VW van, stopping long enough for Nola to pick up a library book here and there, take a public shower, or do laundry at the carwash. They take on odd jobs for money, and preach their nomadic, self-sufficient lifestyle to anyone who will listen. But when an unexpected twist casts Nola out on her own, she decides to seek out the mother who gave her those big blue eyes — and then her trailer breaks down, forcing her to use all the tools her father taught her.