Twenty-one-year-old Chris Olson has hit rock-bottom. His addiction to painkillers has left him homeless and ruined. Hoping to give him a clean start, his sister, Aida, convinces him to move to Anchorage to live with her.

But trouble seems to follow Chris, and he brings it right to Aida's doorstep. Faced with having to kick her brother out of the house, Aida enlists the help of her friend, Doctor Max Fitwell. Max, haunted by a recent personal tragedy, wants nothing more than to be left alone in his misery. But he reluctantly agrees to allow Chris to stay with him and to help build a cabin.

Chris and Max, two men who are each struggling to find their own reasons to live, navigate the wilderness of Alaska, where they'll either become better men or die trying.