 Michael is an acclaimed war correspondent who has just returned from Iraq after four difficult years. Emotionally scarred from this experience, Michael travels to Madison in search of the youthful idealism he had as a young college student at the University of Wisconsin. During his visit Michael looks up his best friend from college, Ben, who maintains a positive outlook on life in spite of the recent death of his wife. Ben s perspective is largely due to his precocious eight-year-old daughter, Maddy, who forges a unique bond with Michael, eventually leading to the journalist s cathartic emotional solace.