Lacking money or purpose, Alan, a young man, drifts around the country without establishing lasting relationships. The son of a concert pianist who apparently wishes to avoid him, Alan has made his life a stream of slight encounters. Occasionally he will accept a handout or have a tentative affair with a lonely young woman, only to move on again. One day, while walking around New York City, he meets a French singer, Renee, whom he had known previously, and follows her to Montauk Point on Long Island. Renee has a little boy who may be Alan's son. Drawn to the child, Alan experiences a brief moment during which he wants to stay. But after sobbing quietly on the beach, he leaves the young woman and her child and resumes his wandering.