Trying to escape his family and his American upbringing, Will Jr. looks for a new life in Cambodia. Through a spiritual community, he seeks explanation of the world around him. Finding instead only fractional and conflicting solutions, he questions the purpose of his time abroad and the meaning of newly formed relationships. In New Jersey, Will Sr. and Linda are struggling with their son's departure. Will Sr. cannot grasp his son's rejection and ingratitude as his health condition worsens. Linda, while trying to understand her son's choice and comfort her husband, is forced into mediating the conflict between the two men. "The Distance Between the Apple and the Tree" is a story of family and the distances that separate us.