Aaron Forth and Gordon Tate have been best buddies since age eleven. A double date in their senior year ends in an unavoidable accident killing Aaron's date. But Aaron, who was driving, is drowning in assumed guilt that has him giving up football, quitting school in his final semester and running away to the Army. In Iraq, a bullet misses him, killing his Army buddy. Back in hometown Houston, as Aaron helps his mother plant a rose bush, she dies of a heart attack. Starting to think that he is an agent of Death, Aaron takes to the road, hitchhiking west. In Arizona, traveling with a young runaway, she dies in a convenience store holdup. Aaron flees. Finally, in Yucca Valley, California's high desert, Aaron settles down. He finds a job he loves, and a new lady friend. Meanwhile, Gordon has been receiving postcards Aaron sent as he traveled. His final postcard is positive and upbeat. Gordon decides it is time to visit his best pal. He drives to Yucca following Aaron's route town by town. But something he couldn't have possibly imagined is waiting for Gordon in Yucca, California.