Being in the right place at the right time.
At 34 years-old, Melvin Van Alan worries that his life has about reached the half-way mark and he is yet to do something significant with it. Then an appealing radio commercial sparks his interest and he suddenly decides he wants to teach writing as a summer camp volunteer.
After all he is a New York public relations expert and he knows young people would benefit from the value of his experience. This is just the beginning of a series of innocent blunders Mel makes as he takes on the challenges of counselor at Camp Sage and Sand, a Christian boy's camp in Indian country, near Cortez, Colorado.
From his first hour as counselor, Mel is thrust into one situation following another that totally forces him out of his comfort zone. Yet, he struggles to win each challenge with the help of his newly made friends on staff who call on God at every turn and demonstrate to this puzzled Jewish newcomer that they know how to put their Christian faith to work.
Mel starts to hate, then comes to like and then love the hot, dry surroundings and the overall purpose of the camp for disadvantaged youth. In the biggest public relations scheme he has ever proposed, he gambles to save the land of Camp Sage and Sand from being taken over by officials connected with the federal government. It does appear God has placed Mel in the right place at the right time to help secure the future of a little mission camp in Colorado.
