The Answer

Gavin wakes to a flirtatious encounter with his wife, Jessica. He goes to work at the University of Georgia, where he teaches poetry in the Creative Writing wing of the English Department. Harry - Gavin's best friend since the second grade - goes to his job teaching Lit at Hampshire College. Alex, also a childhood friend of Gavin and Harry, works his usual twelve-hour day in Hartford, then comes home to his large house and distant wife in Northampton. Gavin's wife dies suddenly in a car accident. Six months pass, and he can't write a word. Harry, Alex, and three other friends from Gavin’s past decide to take Gavin into the woods, where he’s always felt at peace. They choose a backpacking trail in northern Maine, sixty miles in length, to backpack over a week. Being in such close proximity, personalities clash. These men, after all, have only one thing in common: their friendship to Gavin. Harry and Gavin are seasoned hikers, but many of the men have never even been camping. As the six men get deeper and deeper into the forest, they find that they are all facing their own monsters in life. And just as one must shed their weight in hiking a long distance, the men find their inner turmoil bubbling to the surface - to be processed within the group. The Answer is a tribute to fraternity in the modern world that tips its hat to the beautiful and often overlooked bind between men.