In December 1948, Sal is in Testament, Virginia. He celebrates Christmas with his relatives in the town but is surprised when Dean arrives with Marylou and a friend named Ed Dunkel. More surprisingly, Dean is crazier and more intense than ever. After he and Camille had a daughter, he left both in San Francisco and traveled across the country with Ed and his new wife, Galatea, whom both men hoped would pay for their travel. Galatea refused and stayed in Arizona. Dean and Ed stopped briefly in Denver, where Dean reunited with Marylou and invited her out east.

In the time since his last trip, Sal attended college and finished his book. Because he’s a veteran, the G.I. Bill pays for his tuition. Additionally, he met a woman named Lucille and is thinking of marrying her. Dean hears that Sal’s relatives want to send some furniture to Sal’s aunt, so he offers to make the delivery. He will need to make two journeys back and forth between New Jersey and Virginia before returning with Sal’s aunt. Sal decides to join Dean and sets out on the road once again.