October Road: Pilot

Nick gets an offer to teach a one-day course at Dufresne College, the small liberal arts school in his hometown. He sees this as an opportunity to tap back into that which initially inspired him. However he burned his connection to his past when he used his friends and family as characters in his bestselling novel, in the process casting their lives in a less-than-flattering light. Consequently the hometown response to Nick's return is less than festive. Nick's old friends include best friend Eddie Latekka, who is disappointed that Nick abandoned their dream of starting a business together; there's also the good-hearted and straightforward Owen Rowan, whose family life appears the picture of perfection; the well-meaning but sometimes obnoxious Ikey; and Physical Phil, a lovable recluse since 9/11 who has adapted to living his life indoors. Before he left town, Nick told his high school girlfriend, Hannah Daniels, that he'd be back in six weeks. Now ten years later, the jilted but never-married Hannah has decided to forget Nick's unfulfilled promise and go on with her life. She is a single mom raising her nine-year-old son, the bright and charming Sam. Nick sees coincidences indicating that Sam might be his son. Meanwhile, Hannah is involved with Ray "Big Cat" Cataldo, the former high school bully whose mission in life has been to bestow misery on the lives of Nick and his friends. Nick makes a new friend when he meets Aubrey, a pretty college student and fledgling writer whose Bohemian style intrigues him. While he sorts things out, he moves into his childhood home with his father, a widower affectionately referred to as The Commander. Although Nick doesn't regret fulfilling his mother's dying wish of experiencing life outside of Knights Ridge, he now finds himself oddly wanting to tie up loose ends at home, but realizes the path ahead of him is a rocky one. In spite of love bruised or lost between his friends and family, Nick embraces the familiarity of his former life and struggles to be included again among those he let down.