Plot
The Jarretts are an upper-middle-class family in Lake Forest, a wealthy suburb north of Chicago. They are trying to return to normal life after experiencing the accidental drowning of their older teenage son, Buck, and the attempted suicide of their younger and surviving son, Conrad. Conrad has recently returned home after spending four months in a psychiatric hospital. He feels alienated from his family and friends and seeks help from a psychiatrist, Dr. Tyrone Berger, who learns that Conrad was involved in the sailing accident that killed Buck. Conrad is now dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and is seeking help to cope with his emotions.
Conrad's father, Calvin, attempts to connect with his surviving son and to understand Beth, his wife and Conrad's mother, who denies her grief, hoping to maintain her composure and restore her family to what it once was. She appears to have favored Buck, and has grown cold toward Conrad due to his suicide attempt. Beth is determined to maintain the appearance of perfection and normality, but her efforts only serve to further alienate Conrad. Conrad continues to work with Dr. Berger and begins to learn how to deal with his emotions. He starts dating a fellow student, Jeannine, who helps him regain his optimism and confidence. However, Conrad still struggles to communicate and establish normal relationships with his parents and schoolmates in the shadow of recent events.
Meanwhile, Calvin tries to referee the tension between Beth and Conrad, generally taking Conrad's side for fear of pushing him over the edge again. Tensions escalate before Christmas when Conrad becomes furious with Beth for refusing to take a photo with him, swearing at her in front of his grandparents. Soon after, Beth discovers that Conrad has been lying about his whereabouts after school and has quit the swim team. This leads to a heated confrontation between Conrad and Beth in which Conrad points out that Beth never visited him in the hospital; Conrad argues that if Buck had been hospitalized in his place, she would have gone to see him, to which Beth curtly replies that Buck would never have been in the hospital in the first place.
Beth and Calvin then take a trip to see Beth's brother Ward in Houston, where Calvin presses Beth about her evasive attitude. At home, Conrad suffers a setback when he learns that Karen, a friend from the psychiatric hospital, has taken her own life. A cathartic breakthrough session soon follows in the middle of the night with Dr. Berger who allows Conrad to stop blaming himself for Buck's death and accept his mother's limitations. However, when Conrad tries to show affection after his parents arrive home from Houston, Beth is unresponsive, leading Calvin to emotionally confront her one last time. He questions their love and asks whether she can truly love anyone. Stunned, Beth packs her bags and goes back to Houston. Calvin and Conrad are left to come to terms with their new family situation, affirming their father–son bond, love, and support for one another.
