When Vietnam veteran Peter Davies overstays his welcome with his suspicious behavior at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, he's thrown into the back of a police car.

After a violent outburst, he's heavily drugged and admitted to the VA Hospital. When he awakes three days later, Davies has no idea where he is or what he's done.

Faced with a choice between jail time for the damage he caused to police vehicles or to remain at the VA for further observation, Davies opts for a longer hospital stay. Psychiatrist Prescott Brown vows to work with Davies to discover the root of his problems. But Davies—who's been sober for twelve years—feels like a white trash drunk baring his soul to a guy in fifteen hundred dollar loafers. Davies is sure of one thing: he's not about to share the secret of what happened years ago.

As Davies recounts his life story to Prescott, the doctor's life is changed by the journey as the two men travel through chaos into clarity.