The movie follows the medical charts of Sam Alden, a spunky, personable 17-year-old from a close-knit family who is suddenly stricken with coughing spasms, cold sweats, and shortness of breath. His alarmed parents take him to an array of doctors for tests that lead to a dire diagnosis of a degenerative heart condition which could kill him within five years. Shocked and scared, and getting sicker all the time, Sam undergoes a transplant, then faces an even more grueling ordeal as doctors battle to keep his body from rejecting the new organ. Stars Gena Rowlands