Neighbors Cable Malone and Carson Johnson meet their daily lives with dread. Cable, a recent widower, spends his days waiting to die in the company of his ancient dog, Beau. Carson, a bullied teen keeping another boy's secret, drags himself to school where he knows he will fumble his relationship with his girlfriend and receive new bruises at the hands of his classmates. When Carson makes a small gesture of friendship to Cable, the results end in tragedy, sending Cable into a darker, lonelier state and compounding Carson's feelings of powerlessness. But somehow, the man and boy form a friendship that saves them both.