Presence of Mind

A fisheries expert is approached by a consultant to help realize a sheik's vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert and embarks on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible possible.

17-year old Eli moves with his family to the isolated farm of reclusive Waylon, a man whose dark past threatens to overtake him. Eli’s family works to restore the desolate fields, while he becomes fascinated with the forests. While on the farm, Eli meets the mysterious Amanda when she gives him an apple. The next day she extracts a promise from him to avoid the deep woods. Reeling from a violent encounter with his father, one night he breaks this promise and finds her body hanging from a tree.

After interning her insane husband in a remote psychiatric hospital, book editor Helga Pato returns home by train, where she meets a mysterious man who identifies himself as a psychiatrist.