Searching for an escape from the construction rat race and a troubled marriage, craftsman Liam McLeod drops out at age 70 and builds a retreat in a hidden, stony mountain cleft. He seeks peace, but the doubts remain, and he is unable to lose his sense of duty and a newfound faith in the demanding, constant toil to survive. His odyssey is complicated by an attractive, mature therapist after he’s injured, and the routine of building, planting, surviving, is disrupted. His grown children, his estranged wife, a brother and a rural minister help him find perspective. Traveling the road untaken turns out to be an adventure laden with consequences. He accomplishes a lot, learns a great deal about human nature, and also about himself.