Looking for any semblance of the idyllic middle-class existence he knew before his father's death and the family business collapsing, a charming, eternally optimistic ex-surfer named Dud stumbles into his life's new path. He finds himself on the doorstep of a rundown fraternal lodge, where a "Luminous Knight" of the order, plumbing salesman Ernie, welcomes him with open arms. Lodge 49 offers Dud a world of cheap beer, easy friendship and some strange alchemical philosophies that may help him confront his deepest fears and greatest hopes.