The Way

California-based ophthalmologist Tom Avery has had a strained relationship with his only offspring, late thirty-something Daniel Avery, ever since the death of Tom's wife/Daniel's mother. That strain is due to the differences in their life outlooks: Daniel feels Tom doesn't really live in his standard life, while Tom feels Daniel has no focus, the latest point of contention being Daniel's decision to quit his post-graduate studies in their entirety truly to live and to find himself, the initial process being to hike on his own the 800km El Camino de Santiago as a pilgrim. Tom heads to Europe himself upon the news that Daniel was killed in an accident on the first day of his pilgrimage outside of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the French Pyrenees. In his grief, Tom, upon the suggestion of Captain Henri who was in charge of the the case, decides to have Daniel's body cremated, not to bring the remains back to California (the easier transport being the reason for the suggestion), but using Daniel's largely untouched gear to do the pilgrimage as father and son together, Tom spreading the ashes at key points along the way. This decision is despite Tom's advanced age, not having prepared physically for such a grueling hike, and being a lapsed Catholic himself. In dealing with what he considers a very private matter of which no one knows except Captain Henri, Tom amasses some travel companions along the way, the first, a large Dutchman named Joost, who is able to put two and two together. Each of the three who end up traveling with Tom has a very different reason for doing the pilgrimage, those differences which may bring them closer together or tear them apart as companions as they deal with their individual core issues.