Life can be a game of Russian roulette with the Grim Reaper where timing and luck may play a major role in determining fate. Johnny Buck doesn't understand this. He's an impetuous kid with a suicidal father who suddenly wants Johnny and his mother dead. Throughout his life Johnny makes a lot of bad choices based on impulsive behavior and wishful thinking. He finds himself involved with the wrong women while the promising ones seem to slip away. Coincidentally-all of them except one are named Angela. In his late twenties Johnny finds himself becoming attracted to the spellbinding writing of a mysterious novelist using the pen name Samantha Sommers. He conjures up a stunning image of her to match her prose. Becoming infatuated with her, Johnny decides to write her a long letter expressing his attraction to her captivating writing style and fascinating characters. He reveals his desire to meet her. She replies with a brief letter stating bluntly that it wouldn't be a good idea. Still he wonders who she is. Through a course of events that seem to be guided by fate-he's about to find out.