Ronny is a lonely, middle-aged man who has returned home to his small, northeast Montana town to attend a class reunion. While standing on a bridge overlooking his old fishing hole, he reminisces about the day he landed a state record fish as a kid, thirty years earlier. As he's about to walk away, he catches a chance glimpse of a carving on the bridge-a carving he made the summer he met his first love. "RB + MM" was all it said. Ronny is taken back to that summer, the summer of '79. Fifteen-year-old Ronny and his two pals, Butch and six-fingered, six-toed Melv, are typical awkward adolescents who have no experience with girls; however, the arrival of Mary Ellen changes that. A Texas girl, she is staying with her aunt for the summer. Mary Ellen, a year older than the boys, is beautiful and confident-two things the boys are not-and seemingly out of their league. She befriends the trio, and shenanigans ensue as each boy vies for her affection. On their first experience with Mary Ellen, the boys take her cardboard sliding. Butch, who wins a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, to see who would ride with Mary Ellen-and thus, get the chance to cop a cheap feel-slides down the hill with her at breakneck speed. The two hit a stand of sagebrush, sending them sailing. Butch lands on a piece of buried metal and slashes a hole not only in his brand new jeans, but his butt cheek as well. Mary Ellen, ever the nurturer, disinfects the gash with some Jack Daniels (the only alcohol Ronny can find when he runs home) and stitches it up with a #9 hook and some fishing line from Ronny's tackle box. As the summer progresses, Ronny pulls ahead in the race to win Mary Ellen's charms, almost shooting off Melv's gonads while spearfishing-accidentally, of course-in the process. Mary Ellen relishes the competition for her attention, and even though she teasingly leads on Ronny, she finds herself falling for the innocent Joey Ramone look-alike. One day, while Ronny is feigning sick to avoid fishing with the guys, he arranges a horseback ride for Mary Ellen at his aunt's ranch outside of town. They come upon a secluded pond, and Mary Ellen suggests they go for a swim. Ronny is donned in his ever-present cutoffs, but Mary Ellen is decked out in riding gear. Ronny is stunned when Mary Ellen says she'll just swim in her birthday suit-that is, if Ronny agrees to not look at her goods. While Ronny is in the water, Mary Ellen playfully slips away from him as he chases her around the pond. The flirtatious moment ends with Ronny helping Mary Ellen fasten her bra strap-her back to him, of course. Finally, after several failed attempts throughout the summer, the big night arrives. Unfortunately, a nervous Ronny trips while running up the stairs and bites off the tip of his tongue just before he's supposed to meet Mary Ellen. Despite his mangled mouth, Mary Ellen loves him for who he is, and the two awkwardly complete the dirty deed. Much to Ronny's chagrin, the act doesn't even last the length of a three-minute record. Nevertheless, the bond between the two of them is now undeniable. As Mary Ellen's time in Montana is about to end, the boys go on one last fishing trip that takes them an hour out of town. Ronny only agrees to go because he believes he'll be back in time to see Mary Ellen that evening. Much to his dismay, someone forgot to put the plug in the boat, and it sinks, stranding the boys fifty miles from nowhere. They're forced to drink milk from a cow's utter and eat buzzard they skillfully captured just to remain alive. Meanwhile, Mary Ellen is on her way back to Texas. But upon Ronny's return home, all is not what it seems to be. His suspicions are confirmed and, only then, does he learn of a gut-wrenching deception. And later, he'll discover an even greater surprise.
