What happens when a long-dead uncle gets permission to visit his family on earth as an instructing angel? The Portman family is about to find out Overwhelmed by the death of a beloved grandfather, the Portmans escape to the wilderness to grieve on an extended camping trip. There, they come face-to-face with their own "inner wilderness" of anger, pain, and despair. Their angel, Michael, helps them see what is at stake in their spiritual crisis. The father, Steve, is forced to make painful confessions to his family, connected to his brother Michael's mysterious death in a boating accident at Cape Desperate some twenty years earlier. His wife Abby is able to pour out her anxieties about motherhood and marriage. Son Jake needs dating advice, and daughter Becca is a victim of cyberbullying and needs lessons in forgiveness. The angel patiently counsels them all, answering their questions about the meaning of suffering, the realities of heaven and hell, the existence of Satan, the hidden secrets of Armageddon, the authority of the Bible, the role of non-Christian religions, the seeker's pathway to inner peace, and how to discover God's will for their lives. Then, a terrible accident brings their journey to an abrupt climax