Not only is Sam president of his fraternity, but he can now officially call himself a college graduate! He is on top of the world, with a pilot’s license in hand and his long-term girlfriend by his side. After celebrating at a frat party a little too much, Sam’s girlfriend grabs the keys and he and two friends all get into a horrific car crash. Amidst the shock and fear of the aftermath, the other three passengers flee the scene and leave Sam alone in the car, paralyzed and bleeding.
Meanwhile, Daisy, the daughter of a preacher and a very likable 25-year old, is stuck in an abusive marriage. In response to her constant marital fights over money, Daisy decides to get a job in the Long Term Recovery Unit at Franklin Mills ICU, where Sam is placed 11 days after the accident, due to a fracture in his skull dangerously close to his brain stem.
In the Long Term Recovery Unit, every patient receives an empty book to notate the legacy they want left behind, in the event of their passing. After having lost his parents and with his friends having ditched him, Sam dismisses the book as pointless.
While at Franklin Mills, Sam undergoes a series of tests to see if he can qualify for the only possible treatment for his condition. The problem is: even if he qualifies, the treatment is overwhelmingly expensive. Thankfully, the patients and staff rally around him to try and raise the necessary funds for him to have another chance.
As fate would have it, Sam and Daisy fall madly in love in the age-old relationship that can’t happen. Meanwhile, several other characters try to either help the relationship or break it up along the way.
After several twists and turns, some expected and some unexpected, the book is empty no more. It essentially becomes a handbook on how to get the most out of life while we are here and to leave a legacy after we are gone. Hence, the moral of the story: live and live on.