Diagnosed as having a brain tumor, seventeen-year-old Ryan is angrily resigned to the fact that he may not live to see another year. With time running out, he clings to two goals: publishing his journal and losing his virginity. But as Ryan finds fresh strength from his new friends' optimism and defiant refusal to surrender to cancer, his perspective changes.

Canadian businesswoman Dinah Middleton's is devastated when her teenage son, Alex, is killed by a hit-and-run driver. When the police fail to turn up any suspects, she turns private detective to track the killer down. She traces the murderer to New York, only to discover that the crime is not covered by the extradition treaty between Canada and the US. She becomes obsessed with bringing the criminal to justice.