Kevin Kline stars as George Monroe, a divorcee who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Hayden Christensen as Sam, George's contemptuous teenage son, who spends his time doing drugs, engaging in small-time prostitution and avoiding his dying father. In a last-chance effort to fulfill one of his life's dreams, George, an architect, begins rebuilding an old house. He enlists Sam's help in the hopes that the project will enable him to fix his troubled relationship with Sam, and with his ex-wife, whom he abandoned.