 Two bawdy, tough looking navy lifers - "Bad-Ass" Buddusky (Jack Nicholson), and "Mule" Mulhall (Otis Young) - are commissioned to escort a young pilferer named Meadows (Randy Quaid) to the brig in Boston. Meadows is not much of a thief. Indeed, in his late teens, he is not much of a man at all. His great crime was to try to steal forty dollars from the general s wife s pet charity. For this, he s been sentenced to eight years behind bars. At first, Buddusky and Mulhall view the journey as a paid vacation, but their holiday spirits are quickly depressed by the prisoner, who looks prepared to break into tears at any moment. And he has the lowest self-image imaginable. Buddusky gets it into his head to give Meadows a good time and teach him a bit about getting on in the world. Lesson one: Don t take every card life deals you. Next, he teaches Meadows to drink, and, as a coup de grace, finds a nice young whore to instruct him in lovemaking. Mule, who worries aloud about his own position with military authority, seems pleased with Meadows s progress. However, when the trio reach Boston, the game comes abruptly to an end as reality sets in.