After getting kicked out of college for the semester, Val goes back to his hometown and moves in with his single dad, where he sets himself two goals: write the next great American novel and get his high school girlfriend back. But after Val’s friend suddenly dies and his 12-year-old brother Charlie comes to live with him and his dad, Val quickly realizes that he has to grow up fast so that Charlie doesn’t have to.
A talented but abrasive chef struggles mightily with his personal demons and the relentless pressures of running a high-end restaurant. Over the course of one frantic day and night, he faces a rash of private trials and professional tribulations in a desperate bid to beat the odds and save the business that forms the very core of his identity and self-conception.