It is the summer of 1944 and the United States is still at war in both Europe and Japan. Most adults are in military service and the US Forest Service is looking for additional seasonal workers. Teenagers are encouraged to apply. Young Lew Faber, barely 17, is eager for adventure. He answers the call for volunteers and finds himself aboard a train headed for the wilds of northwestern Montana. Once there, he prepares to live alone at the top of a mountain in a small cabin for three months, spotting forest fires and collecting memories. Seventy years later he returns to his mountain peak accompanied by his three sons and daughter-in-law. The return trip surprises even him, with twists and turns that he could never have imagined.