Backpacking alone on the Appalachian trail, a married woman meets a younger hiker and the two strangers become inexplicably drawn to one another.

While navigating life with his hyper-protective mother along the enigmatic Outer Banks of North Carolina's coast (site of the first attempted English settlement in the New World), conflicted teen Loren learns of his expecting girlfriend's ambivalence toward him. After a near tragic accident, he must learn to assemble the broken pieces into a stronger, wiser form and approach a more worldly consciousness. A searchlight cast upon the earliest traces of America and the mystery of settlers vanished, Lost Colony scans a once virgin watershed for signs of life.

Seeking escape from his stalled relationship and unhappy place in the world, a recently pink-slipped music teacher sets out to hike Kentucky's Sheltowee Trace Trail. Among the verdant hills of Appalachia, he encounters various strange characters and becomes the reluctant companion of a gregarious father and son who ultimately help him rediscover what he's been missing.