"The Long Haul is about a frozen relationship between a college-aged alcoholic ("The Alcoholic") and his codependent girlfriend (the protagonist whose name is never mentioned). Shifting between upstate New York and New York City, the story follows the trajectory of the couple's doomed six year relationship in a milieu reminiscent of "Jesus' Son and Buffalo 66. The Alcoholic is a small--town musician-a shiftless, disturbed, yet oddly gentle and pathetic figure; he demands fealty and receives it from his girlfriend, who sees no choice but to stick with him for "the long haul." In an effort to find their way in the world, the two drive through an ice storm, kidnap an abandoned girl, break into a house, make and break the same promises, uncover the futile existence of lost causes, forsake their own needs--but not even an attempted rape on the grounds of a prestigious liberal arts college is enough to snake the protagonist flee. Instead she turns with the Alcoholic toward New York City As the solace they once offered each other turns bitter, these two addicted youth find that to survive they will need to cut. loose. But they soon find it is easier to destroy oneself than to destroy what one loves.