Inciting Event: Caleb and his wife have a fight, and he verbally attacks her. It’s the straw that breaks her camel’s back after a growing pile of problems stemming from hia selfishness. She wants a divorce.

First Plot Point: Caleb’s dad, after confirming Caleb still has at least a little desire to stay married, dares him to try a forty-day program called the Love Dare, which his dad says saved his own marriage not long ago. Caleb reluctantly agrees and starts following the program, but only going through the motions, which doesn’t cause the desired change.

First Pinch Point: It is shown that Caleb not only refuses to help his wife’s parents with their medical expenses because he wants to save up for a boat for himself, but he also has an Internet pornography addiction that makes her feel humiliated and worthless.

Caleb’s wife Catherine starts turning to her co-worker Dr. Keller for the comfort and understanding she’s been missing from her husband. When Caleb tries making a stronger effort by fixing her a romantic candlelit dinner, she shuts him down, telling him she does not love him.

Midpoint: Caleb’s dad convinces Caleb that Christ has loved him all this time, despite Caleb’s rejecting him. He says Caleb needs Christ’s forgiveness for lusting after the other women on the Internet (committing adultery in his heart).

Caleb starts a full-hearted journey back to God, though discouraged that even now with his full sincerity in following the Love Dare, Catherine is not changing her mind about him one inch. He starts to focus more on becoming a good man and loving his wife through acts of kindness, whether she loves him back or not.

Second Pinch Point: Caleb finally destroys his computer and everything on it, giving up porn forever.

Catherine believes her budding romance with Dr. Keller has paid off in an unexpected way. She is brought to tears when her parents finally receive the medical equipment they need for quality of life, due to his donation.

Third Plot Point: Caleb finds an envelope from Catherine, and opens it, anticipating her glad return to him. Instead, he finds divorce papers—she’s still going through with it. Caleb is devastated.

While packing up his things, since he’ll have to move out soon, he finds a greeting card from Dr. Keller to Catherine.

Climax: After nearly dying while saving a child in a fire, Caleb confronts Dr. Keller and gets him to back off from his wife. We see that Dr. Keller is also married and had been hiding that fact.

Climactic Moment: Catherine finds out that Dr Keller only paid a very small portion of her parents’ medical equipment bill and that the rest was paid for by Caleb. She comes to the fire station and tells Caleb that he is a good man, that she forgives him, and that she loves him. They embrace, and we know that, finally, all is well.

Resolution: Caleb reconciles with his mom, after finding out she wasn’t the one who took the Love Dare for his dad, but it was his dad who did it on her request.

Caleb and Catherine reaffirm their wedding vows, this time on a basis of Christian faith.

Comments: Caleb’s firefighting partner is a strong impact character for Caleb in the idea and themes of the story. He highlights the ideas being expressed very strongly, but he isn’t mentioned here because the main conflict of the story turns and changes upon Caleb’s interactions with his dad, his wife, and God.

Caleb’s partner serves as more of an impact character to the audience, explaining Christian concepts along the way as he helps his friend, but also serving as an example of the kind of man Caleb wants to be by the end.

(Submitted by Aaron McCausland.)