Otis (John Magaro), also known as "Cookie," is a cook for a band of fur trappers as they journey west through Oregon Territory in the 1820s.

Just before the crew arrives at a trading post, Cookie comes across Chinese immigrant King-Lu (Orion Lee), cowering naked behind a fern because he's being sought for murder. The two have an immediate rapport.

When they meet again at the trading post, they develop a friendship and King-Lu invites Cookie for a drink. Soon the two collaborate on a successful business, although its longevity is reliant upon the clandestine participation of a nearby wealthy landowner's prized milking cow.

Based on the novel The Half-Life by Jon Raymond.