An absent-minded-professor father and his son take off in an old Pontiac to bond during a symbolic road trip through the Western U.S. This while his wife tries to overcome her neuroses to save the family.

It's the 17th century, and Native American Squanto roams free in the New World until he's captured by visiting sailors who take him back to England. Monk Brother Daniel teaches him social customs, but other Englishmen aren't as kind. Squanto becomes the unwilling star of performances that highlight his fighting skills, but he eventually engineers a return trip to America. He finds that his home has changed forever, and he must chart a new path for his people.