Henry has become a substitute teacher rather than fully commit himself to his students, but his latest assignment takes him to a high school where the building is in sad shape and the staff are faring no better. Henry quickly becomes a role model as a teacher who actually cares about the well-being of these students. In finding an unlikely emotional connection to the students, teachers, and a runaway teen he takes in from the streets, Henry realizes that hes not alone in his life and death struggle to find beauty in a seemingly vicious and loveless world.