Saint in Vain

If the preservation of your life’s work and legacy hinged on your ability to convince a total stranger to kill you, what would you say? Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, three stranger’s lives are forever altered. Silvio loses both of his parents. Vera’s newlywed husband, out of a sense of patriotic duty, enlists to deploy to Iraq. And Lewis is a U.S. Army private caught in the middle of the Iraqi war violence. When a routine mission in Iraq turns tragic, Lewis is left with deep emotional scars and a final mission of his own—to deliver a fallen comrade’s letter. Out of feelings of guilt and a need for penance, Lewis decides that the only proper way to deliver the letter is by foot, which is how he ends up on a cross country journey through the United States. While Lewis sojourns, Silvio has adopted a mission of his own. Witnessing the abrupt mortality and lackluster funeral of his parents, Silvio is on a mission to be remembered. And, he decides, what better way to be remembered than to be immortalized as a saint? Contrasted with the cynical Vera, Silvio becomes somewhat of a cult figure in their community, and when Lewis finally makes it to their small town, Silvio is convinced that he’s found the perfect person to carry out his martyrdom.