Jared Phelps returns home from his two-year mission in Wyoming to a world that looks very different from the one he left just two years ago. The film opens with a crowded airport send-off, but when he arrives back, there’s no one waiting for him. The homecoming is chaotic: he discovers the family has moved, the house is now occupied by a foreign exchange student from Tonga, and the new homeowner greets him with a karate kick in the shower, a moment he later describes as being >Kung-fued by a naked ninja<. The montage of instant photographs from his mission slides into the present, showing him climbing from a fresh “greenie” to district leader, then zone leader, and finally an assistant to the mission president, only to face a far different reality back home.
Back under his own roof, the surprises don’t stop. His mother is pregnant, and his girlfriend—who promised to wait for him—is marrying someone else in two weeks. The ring he bought at a jewelry store cannot be returned, and the job he hoped to find after his return has evaporated into a new internet enterprise run by his former employer. The only immediate employment option points abroad, offering the chance to mine diamonds in South Africa.
As if that wasn’t enough, Jared struggles to restart his life: he’s rejected by Brigham Young University and drifts through a string of odd jobs, even considering selling knives to make ends meet. Amid the upheaval, he meets Kelly Powers, Britani Bateman, the daughter of Elder H. Ronald Powers, Richard R. Dayhuff, a general authority whose presence makes Jared feel both awe and awkwardness in equal measure. On a date with Kelly, he navigates the social landmines of church life, family expectations, and a surprising shift in his own priorities. Around this time, his mother goes into labor and welcomes a baby boy into the family, adding another layer of change to Jared’s world.
As trouble compounds, boils break out on his skin and he’s swept up in a legal scrape sparked by a friend’s actions. This leads to his firing from his job and the removal of his role as the elders quorum president, forcing him to confront a difficult choice: lie to protect his friend or tell the truth and risk jail for both of them. He chooses honesty, and while he’s ultimately cleared of the charges, his friend must serve some jail time.
In the aftermath, Jared speaks at church about how his mission’s lessons reshaped his life in unexpected ways. He decides to pursue night classes and reapply to BYU in the fall, keeping hope alive for a fresh start. As he continues to date Kelly, the couple is seen together in a jewelry shop, exchanging his old ring for a new one as they become engaged, signaling a future built on reconciliation, faith, and a more grounded sense of possibility. Along the way, fringe characters and moments—such as Grandma Phelps and Sister Porterhouse—thread through the narrative, underscoring the film’s themes of faith, family, and personal growth. Marlene Arnold and Michael Birkeland appear in roles that anchor the community’s support around this young man’s journey.
