Giving advice is what Julianne does for a living - in a column in her local Wisconsin paper. But when it comes to her personal life, Julie seems to have missed some clues. She has worked hard to keep her marriage fresh and to be a good mother, so it's a mystery when husband, Leo, decides to defect from their life together and their three children. In his absence, Julie is diagnosed with a serious illness, which drives her children to undertake a dangerous journey to find Leo - before it's too late. As the known world sinks precariously from view, the Gillis clan must navigate their way through the trenches of love, guilt and betrayal, back to solid ground and a new definition of family.