Mero fled Wyoming and has never decided to go back. However, sixty years later, Louise calls him to pass sad news. Rollo, Mero’s brother, has been attacked by an emu and passed away. Resultantly, Mero drives from Massachusetts to Wyoming to attend his brother’s funeral. On the way to Wyoming, he is having memories of Rollo, his father, and his father’s lover. He remembers his father’s girlfriend telling them about a hapless rancher called Tin Head. Mero fled home the following day after they were told about Tin Head.
Tin Head used to butcher steers every year for his family. However, one day he butchered a steer but left it half-skinned after his wife called him for dinner. Upon returning, Tin Head discovered that the steer had escaped. That led him to believe that his family is cursed due to the injuries he inflicted on the steer. After the flashback, Mero fantasizes that he will die before making it to the ranch. In his dying delusion, he sees a steer that has alienated itself from the rest of the livestock. Upon staring at it, he discovers that it is a half-skinned steer.
The tale shows that people encounter a lot of challenges and difficulties in their lives. The destiny of a human being is unpredictable. Mero left his family’s ranch at a tender age and never wanted to get back. However, as fate would have it, he returns after sixty years to attend his brother’s funeral. He can’t escape the memories, which haunts him to death. Mero has attempted every technique to forget about the past but in vain. The story suggests that it is hard to forget about the past.
