影片虚构了爱伦·坡死前“神秘”的5天里发生的事情。
　　巴尔的摩发生了一件母女同时被害的残忍凶杀案，当地警官艾迈特（卢克·伊万斯 Luke Evans 饰）调查后发现凶手的犯罪手段和爱伦·坡（约翰·库萨克 John Cusack 饰）小说中的手段一模一样。正当爱伦·坡被叫去警局询问时发生了另一件凶手案，手法依旧和参考他的小说。了解到凶手的方法后，艾迈特邀请爱伦·坡担当顾问协助破案。而随着案件的进一步深入，艾迈特发现，爱伦·坡会成为这个残忍杀人凶手的下一个行凶目标。正当大家全力保护爱伦·坡的安全时，岂料凶手竟然绑架了的他情人艾米丽（爱丽丝·伊芙 Alice Eve 饰）。到底谁才是真正的凶手，爱伦·坡是不是能用自己的小说来揭开这场杀人的游戏呢？

　　An anthropology student brings some of his classmates to his family ranch, where his brother lives in a haze of drugs, guilt, and Chumash Indian rituals.

　　从小热爱音乐，并最终成为一名职业巡演音乐人的吉米-泰斯塔格罗斯（朗-埃达德饰），历经长达25年的时间，足迹遍布6大洲，带领自己的音乐团队巡演几乎整个地球，他的粉丝、歌迷已然有数百万之多。如今，已然是中年男人的吉米，终于在45岁这年决定回家，看望自己自20岁父亲去世那年便从未见过面的老母亲（罗伊丝-史密斯饰），以及他离别多年的小镇和少时的朋友们。
　　然而，经过多年的岁月洗礼，两鬓斑白的老母亲虽亲情依旧，但往日记忆里的浓情小镇早已翻天覆地，尤其是多年未谋面的发小、旧友甚至青梅竹马却早已是为人夫妇、情随世迁。在历经一番怀旧、追忆、欢笑、误解甚至打骂之后，无情的岁月与世道之变迁，带给这位明星显赫的老摇滚巨星的不仅仅是温馨满溢，更多的则是岁月无情和旧爱的逝去。但年迈的老母亲多年不变的母子亲情却依旧温暖如初，她收藏的爱子年少时便尽显音乐才华时的旧照片和简报，再次成为了中年吉米感恩亲情、相信生活的动力所在……
　　For over 20 years, Jimmy Testagross has lived his childhood dream: being a roadie for his childhood heroes, Blue Oyster Cult. But the band's Arena-Rock glory days are a distant memory. County fairs and club gigs pay the bills. And Jimmy has become a casualty of these leaner times. With no place to go, no job prospects, and no real skills outside of being a roadie, Jimmy needs to regroup. So he returns to his childhood home in Queens, Ny. There, he revisits old relationships: his ailing, widower mom, a high school crush, a former nemesis and, most importantly, his relationship with himself. Jimmy, the middle-aged man-child, has never grown up. He still carries the resentments and frustrations of his youth, and has allowed them to fester and define who and what he is. Confronted with his mother's illness, Jimmy has a choice: let go of the past and take responsibility for both himself and the woman who raised and now needs him. Or continue to live a life of lies and frustration.

　　从小热爱音乐，并最终成为一名职业巡演音乐人的吉米-泰斯塔格罗斯（朗-埃达德饰），历经长达25年的时间，足迹遍布6大洲，带领自己的音乐团队巡演几乎整个地球，他的粉丝、歌迷已然有数百万之多。如今，已然是中年男人的吉米，终于在45岁这年决定回家，看望自己自20岁父亲去世那年便从未见过面的老母亲（罗伊丝-史密斯饰），以及他离别多年的小镇和少时的朋友们。
　　然而，经过多年的岁月洗礼，两鬓斑白的老母亲虽亲情依旧，但往日记忆里的浓情小镇早已翻天覆地，尤其是多年未谋面的发小、旧友甚至青梅竹马却早已是为人夫妇、情随世迁。在历经一番怀旧、追忆、欢笑、误解甚至打骂之后，无情的岁月与世道之变迁，带给这位明星显赫的老摇滚巨星的不仅仅是温馨满溢，更多的则是岁月无情和旧爱的逝去。但年迈的老母亲多年不变的母子亲情却依旧温暖如初，她收藏的爱子年少时便尽显音乐才华时的旧照片和简报，再次成为了中年吉米感恩亲情、相信生活的动力所在……
　　For over 20 years, Jimmy Testagross has lived his childhood dream: being a roadie for his childhood heroes, Blue Oyster Cult. But the band's Arena-Rock glory days are a distant memory. County fairs and club gigs pay the bills. And Jimmy has become a casualty of these leaner times. With no place to go, no job prospects, and no real skills outside of being a roadie, Jimmy needs to regroup. So he returns to his childhood home in Queens, Ny. There, he revisits old relationships: his ailing, widower mom, a high school crush, a former nemesis and, most importantly, his relationship with himself. Jimmy, the middle-aged man-child, has never grown up. He still carries the resentments and frustrations of his youth, and has allowed them to fester and define who and what he is. Confronted with his mother's illness, Jimmy has a choice: let go of the past and take responsibility for both himself and the woman who raised and now needs him. Or continue to live a life of lies and frustration.

　　摩门教不允许同性行为的存在，RJ是一位刚加入传教士行列的摩门教徒，他和Merrill成为了一对传教同伴，RJ一直知道自己喜欢的是男人，在朝夕相处之下他爱上了Merrill，而Merrill也被RJ所吸引，这场禁忌之恋将会如何收拾？

　　马克·欧布莱恩（约翰·浩克斯 John Hawkes 饰）曾在幼年时期患上过小儿麻痹症。疾病的后遗症不仅让他再也没有站起来过，并且还让他饱受呼吸困难的折磨。虽然已过而立之年的他早已成为一名成功的诗人兼记者，但作为一个男人，却从未尝试过性的滋味。在向牧师朋友多次寻求指引 后，他毅然决定通过雇佣专业性从业者来帮助自己完成这个愿望。于是谢尔（海伦·亨特 Helen Hunt 饰）出现在了马克的生活里。然而对于马克这样特殊的情况，谢尔一开始也觉得无所适从。但是渐渐地，两人不仅从医患关系变为朋友，谢尔同时也给予了马克追求幸福和爱的勇气，让马克迈出了追寻爱的第一步。
　　本片根据真人真事改编。片中谢尔的扮演者海伦·亨特获得第85届奥斯卡最佳女配角等多项电影节提名。