We meet Mitch Yost once a legendary surfer, but now a lonely figure. He has a son Butchie who used to be extraordinary surfer, but now a drug addict junkie, and a 13-year-old grandson Shaun, who may be the next big surfer. As Mitch rinses off by his station wagon; he levitates, and thinks he's having a hallucination. A stranger named John arrives at the Snug Harbor Motel; police arrest Cissy for getting snippy with a megastore employee; Shaun and Bill take a detour on the way to a surfing event.
Linc tries to infiltrate the Yost inner circle; Barry has a change of heart about the fate of the motel; Shaun has unexpected results when he takes part in a surfing competition; a greasy drug dealer named Steady Freddy arrives to harass Butchie, but changes his tune when bad news arrives, and John claims he's from Cincinnati.
Dr. Smith believes a paranormal phenomenon has occurred within the Yost family; Kai takes John to her trailer; and Cass comforts Mitch, unaware of her connection to Linc.
John has an encounter with some local thugs; Kai makes a connection with Butchie; Vietnam Joe introduces Dr. Smith to a new patient; Shaun's porn-star mother arrives in Imperial Beach.
Zippy issues Bill an unusual mandate; Shaun's porn-star mother lets the Yosts know she's back in town.
Butchie sets up a mother-son reunion for Tina and Shaun, and Bill and Cissy revisit history with help from John.
Linc's authority at Stinkweed is threatened; Ramon oversees a new construction project at the motel; Palaka receives medical attention from Dr. Smith.
The locals in Imperial Beach worry about Shaun after a cryptic warning from John.
Mitch seeks helps south of the border; Cissy organizes a search party to find Shaun; Bill loses a trusted source of information; and Palaka's gift ends up with an unintended recipient.
In the first-season finale, Butchie and Kai are greeted with a pleasant surprise; and Stinkweed's haphazard parade wends its way through Imperial Beach.