马克(John Lithgow)是一名美国海军突击队员,曾参与越战长达五年之久,越战结束后,他的心理受到严重创伤,无法面对现实的社会,于是他抛弃妻子,与尚在襁褓中的儿子,与其他越战大兵放逐到西北太平洋的群山丛岭中,过着隐姓埋名的生活。一转眼就是16年,马克终于结束了自我放逐,想接触外面的世界,于是他开始找新工作,并尝试寻找如今已长大成人的儿子杰克(Ralph Macchio)。在马克寻找儿子的过程中,他才发现,当年他离去所造成的伤害,远远超出了他的想象…A troubled Vietnam war vet deserts his wife and child shortly after he returns from the war. He returns after 10 years, where he's been living like an animal in the forest. He finds himself unprepared for the changes that he will have to cope with, and when the vet tries to contact his son, he realizes that he has caused more damage than he had imagined.