Tom Young wants to make a difference in the world. He joins the Peace Corps and is sent to an impoverished farm community in remote southern Chile where a reforestation project is the campesinos' only hope for a better future.
Tom finds himself in a breathtakingly beautiful land from a bygone era. Horses and oxen provide transportation, light is from kerosene lamps, and water is fetched with buckets from springs. He is drawn to the closeness of Chilean family life, and desperately wants to fit in as he struggles with the language and customs. Fighting depression and loneliness, he slowly adapts, but is shocked when brutal acts of violence rock the community.
Tom's bonds are truly forged with this forgotten world when he embarks on the seemingly impossible task of building a new road into the campo. What he doesn't anticipate is the relationship that develops with a beautiful young woman, a relationship that will provide the key to Tom's heartwarmibng - and heartbreaking - acceptance into the community.