When Chris and Tony were kids, their Native American grandmother gave them nicknames that reflected their personalities. The smiling, easy-going Tony was dubbed "Smiling Fish," while the more uptight Chris received the name "Goat on Fire." As adults, the brothers learn to reflect upon their own sense of character in order to successfully navigate their ways through their often rocky relationships with women and each other. Chris is satisfied with his job as an accountant but has problems with his girlfriend, who frequently dissolves into tears during sex. He turns to his new friend Clive, an eccentric eighty-year-old who knows a thing or two about love. Tony, twenty going on twelve, sees the world as a giant game. When he meets Kathy, the local mail carrier, he considers taking on some responsibility for the first time.