Allan Landey lives a secluded existence in his apartment and only ventures out daily to work at the local library. His brother, Ryan Landey, tries to coax him out of the solitude he refuses to abandon. He meets Tracey Gremmel, a local college student that slowly begins to whither down his shield against others. One day, while he dazes off into the safety of his thoughts, Tracey and her boyfriend Dan Leatherwood convince him to join them on a camping trip with another couple. A series of events begins to make Allan recall the way his father mistreated his mother in the past and how helpless he felt to stop it. Tracey, just like his mother, seemed to believe that the trade off for any security and love was abuse. Dan treats Tracey with careless regard to her well being; taking out his explosive tendencies on a girlfriend with a vulnerable sense of worth. At last the shreds of sanity are torn off when Allan hears how Dan seduces Tracey so that she doesn't end their relationship. His father used the same tactic as a personal tool of manipulation to make her forget the harsh stabs of his words. But the wounds remained a lifetime, and Allan carried the injuries that his younger brother could not. Uncovering the recesses of a mind that can't seem to let go of the past has consequences that his new friends will find difficult to cope with, or even survive with.
