On a hot night in August, 2011, Matt, an Afghanistan combat vet, returns, after being away for 12 years, to the family farm in Mississippi and the brother that he abandoned.
Matt has not been in touch since he joined the Marines in 1999. His life has been shattered by all that he has seen and done; he hopes that making peace with Jimmy, who was 10 when he left, will help to lift the depression that has overwhelmed him.
As the brothers drink and talk through the night, old pain and anger is released.
In order to make Jimmy understand why he ran off at 17 and never looked back, Matt is forced to recount the violence he witnessed in the woods near their farm: a traumatic memory buried long ago.
It is his brother’s love and ability to forgive that makes it possible for Matt to begin to heal and build a life once again.