Plot

After his wife's early death, a mourning father moves with his teenage son across the country for a private-school teaching job. Their lives begin to transform thanks to two unique women who help them embrace life and love again.

After the loss of his wife, Bill Palet (Simmons) and his 17-year-old son Wes move out of their small town into the big city in an attempt to have a fresh start. As they each begin to adjust to their new life and seek ways to heal their wounds, they both find comfort in newfound romance. Wes meets Lacy, an introverted but fierce girl whose enigmatic personality captivates Wes' attention, and Bill meets Carine, a compassionate and elegant teacher whose own past heartaches resonate with his. As relationships are tested, Bill and Wes grow apart and back together again while discovering their true selves.—Cameron West

Bill and Jeanie were together 33 years. It was only 60 days from her diagnosis until her death.

One night, Bill walks into the bedroom of his teenage son Wes and says he can't do this any more.

With little warning, the Blue '71 Mustang is towing a U-Haul trailer along the Pacific Coast headed toward Los Angeles. Paul, headmaster of St. Martin's, a private boys' school, dated Jeanie before Bill but eventually got over it. Bill has been offered a job teaching math.

Bill and Wes move into a house and soon visit the school. Wes has to wear a uniform, and there is one in the lost and found. Paul tells Wes the boys all have to choose a sport, so Wes, who wasn't interested in sports, chooses cross country.

Wes is the new kid but he soon makes friends. Girls from Cavalcade Academy come to St. Martin's for some classes. One of the girls is the very pretty Lacy, who is not very social. Wes is in French class with her. Ms. Roussel, the teacher, observes that Wes is one of her best students. This is because his mother was fluent. Lacy is failing so Ms. Roussel asks Wes to tutor her.

After one of his classes, Bill is asked by Paul to get therapy since the school will cover it. He thinks Bill has been grieving too long and could use help.

At home, Wes watches videos of his mother on his phone. One shows Bill and Jeanie having a picnic, and Jeanie has long red hair. The other shows Jeanie with no hair and her head covered, appearing to say goodbye to Wes and saying how much she loves him. Meanwhile, Bill is in the garage looking at a gigantic painting Jeanie did which is very colorful but does not obviously represent anything.

Bill gives Wes the Mustang and starts riding a bike left behind at their house.

Wes visits Lacy at home. Lacy is not very nice but she is expected to do this, so she lets Wes help her.

Bill works on a garden, intending to grow vegetables to be eaten, and he comments on how much Jeanie liked tomatoes. After therapy, Dr. Rollens prescribed Lexapro but Bill doesn't like the way it makes him feel.

On a later visit to Lacy, Wes sees blood on Lacy's arm. Lacy makes him leave and Lacy's younger sister Annabelle introduces herself. She is adorable and sarcastic.

Coach Keyes is a jerk but he asks Ms. Roussel to go on a date. She pretends she needs to talk to Bill about a student and asks Bill to play along.

Raffi and Gober are Wes' closest friends as they run cross country together. However, Wes is very slow and holds them back. He lets them go on ahead. As they return from a run Ms. Roussel asks Wes how Lacy is doing and Wes tries not to give too much information.

After class, Ms. Roussel asks Lacy how she is doing and is very persistent, which causes Lacy to start crying, but it is not clear what is wrong. In several later scenes, Wes sees blood again and figures out Lacy is cutting herself.

While Wes is at lunch with Raffi and Gober, Mason, who is a jerk, makes disparaging remarks about Lacy that Wes can't ignore. They fight and Paul gives them detention, and they have to spend time on the weekends picking up litter.

Ms. Roussel meets Bill at the pharmacy after Dr. Rollens changes him to Cymbalta. They eventually go on several dates. One date is at a restaurant where the waiter speaks French very well and Bill has no idea what the two are saying.

During one of his tutoring sessions with Lacy, Wes is invited to eat with the family. Lacy's mother Barbara is proper but critical. Lacy's father Davis is pleasant but thinks he should be treated better because he pays for everything. Wes learns they are separated but still live in the same house. In a later scene Lacy is comforting Annabelle as their parents fight.

Paul and his wife Nancy invite Wes and Bill to a birthday party for Bill, and Wes and Bill both bring dates. Wes and Lacy go parking but Lacy doesn't even want to kiss.

On a later visit by Wes, Lacy gives him a front passenger seat for the Mustang, since it didn't have one. Wes can't put it in properly because apparently it was a driver's seat, so anyone who sits there faces backwards. Wes, Lacy and Annabelle have a fun time riding before Wes has to join his friends for litter patrol. Annabelle helps make that fun.

Mason comes to Lacy's house at night and calls to her. She is depressed enough that she goes out with Mason and his friends, who play loud music and drink in a van. While they are having fun around a fire, Lacy goes off by herself and calls Ms. Roussel to come get her.

Mason brags at school about what he and Lacy supposedly did. Wes comes to Lacy's house and says he will no longer tutor her.

After Bill and Ms. Roussel end up in bed, Bill feels guilty and breaks up with her. Dr. Rollens recommends a grief support group.

After some time has passed, Bill is teaching his class and can't seem to remember anything. Then he passes out. He ends up in the hospital and Dr. Rollens thinks it is time for desperate measures, including electroshock therapy.

After treatment, Bill seems to have given up on life. As he and Wes eat a meal, Wes angrily demands he do something. If he's going to just give up and die, do it now. He went through something like this with his mom, so Wes is ready for all of this to be over.

Bill seems to be getting better. The movie alternates between Wes participating in a race and Bill going through some possessions in the garage, with flashbacks to when Jeanie was alive. Bill calls Michael and says the museum would be a great place for all of Jeanie's art. Wes is shown passing other runners. He is in first place at the end and Bill is there to congratulate him.

Bill returns to teaching and he is willing to date Ms. Roussel again. Lacy passes French without any further help from Wes, who is interested in spending time with her also. Both couples go for ice cream in the Mustang, with the passenger seat still backwards.