基于Larry Watson所著同名小说，讲述退休警长乔治·布莱克利奇和妻子玛格丽特在失去儿子后，离开蒙大拿州的牧场，去达科他州寻找与外界隔离的危险一家人，解救他们年幼的孙子。而当他们到达目的地，发现那家人并没有意愿放人。
The film tells the story of three people for a year a son (Magimel) diagnosed with cancer, a mother (Deneuve) suffering from helplessness and a doctor (Cécile de France) to do her job One year and four seasons for these three characters to deal with the disease, to tame it, and to understand what it means to die while alive.