Sam is a student, happy to drift through life with little care for his actions or the feelings of others. But when Paul Dales, a former school-friend dies, his final wish is that Sam and three other old friends visit Paul's parents in their house on the west coast of Scotland.

A few days are all they have to see how Paul lived and what he saw in the world, to share with his parents their memories. As the days go by, Sam is challenged in ways he can't understand by the simple beauty of Paul's short life and the ideas of Paul's father Daniel. As Sam is finally confronted by the inadequacy of his own life, the mountains hold the path to change him for good.