Plot: drama | New York, 2001.
Main characters.
Carl Trump is a successful 50-year-old lawyer. He is a partner in the city's leading law firm and leads a hectic life, totally dedicated to work, at a very high pace. He has lost sight of his family and all other interests. His only goal is to become the firm's majority partner. Evelyn is Carl's wife, a woman accustomed to enjoying money, who makes her husband's absence an opportunity to indulge every desire. Sophie is Carl's only daughter, a spoiled 17-year-old: the money she has and her parents' lack of guidance have turned the girl into a cynical little monster, living without control.
The call to adventure
Carl experiences yet another fiery day, between meetings, gatherings, and difficult decisions. At the end of the day, when darkness has already fallen and the offices are deserted, at what seems to be a quiet moment, he is seized by a stroke, but there is no one to notice and to help him. Not even at home will anyone notice his absence. He will agonize until the morning, when a cleaner discovers his body lying prone behind his desk.
The conflict
Carl opens his eyes again and realizes that a year has passed since he lost consciousness in his office. A year during which many things have happened: his office, located in the first Twin Tower no longer exists. It was wiped out by the September 11 bombing and with it his colleagues. His daughter has been arrested and his wife lives squandering her fortune with other men she invites home. Carl is also not the same person he used to be: the stroke has left deep marks on him and he must engage in a long rehabilitation. All this has a shocking impact on Carl, who feels desperately lonely and useless.
The key
During the rehabilitation journey, Dr. Margareth takes care of Carl as he slowly understands the fragility of being human and the futility of a life lived to accumulate money and power. He realizes that there is so much he has not seen and known and that he has never done anything for the mere pleasure of the act. Carl leaves it all behind and once out of the hospital begins a new, simple life together with Margareth.
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