Synopsis for
The Lucky One (2012) More at IMDbPro »

Is there really such a thing as destiny? Is Fate shadowing our movements, stacking the deck, or are all our momentsordinary and extraordinaryrandom?

A Marine has seemingly defied the odds during three tours of duty in Iraq. The story opens in Iraq, where U.S. Marine Sergeant Logan Thibault is on his third tour of duty. Almost immediately, he is thrust into a firefight that changes his life forever.

Central to the story is Logan's connection to what he comes to perceive as his own good luck charm - a photograph of a stranger he finds in the middle of the war zone.

Returning to the States, Logan is unable to fit back in with his own family. Will Fetters says many of his friends who served echo that sentiment. "The disconnect these veterans feel when they come home is so immense. It takes a while to get back into the rhythm of life. Their once usual surroundings feel alien. Nothing will ever be the same."

Logan is also unable to shake his curiosity about the woman in the photo, who inadvertently saved his life. Deciding he must try to locate her, he scours the internet to identify the lighthouse in the background, and finds the match. Soon he embarks on a trek from Colorado to Louisiana, with his dog Zeus at his side.

However, when Beth meets Logan, there's immediate distrust. Beth lives at her family home, where she runs a dog kennel and training business with her grandmother, Ellie. Ellie, who, upon observing Logan's command over Zeus, hires him to help at the kennel, despite Beth's objections. Hicks comments that Ellie might also have ulterior motives.

Another person who welcomes Logan's arrival is Beth's seven-year-old son, Ben. Logan becomes fast friends with Ben, who delights in beating him in chess and showing off his magic tricks. Logan also not only accepts but encourages Ben's playing of the violin, something his own father dismisses.

Ben's father, and Beth's ex-husband, is the town's Deputy Sheriff, Keith Clayton, who uses their son Ben as a pawn to intimidate and control Beth. It only gets worse when he jealously starts to view Logan as an interloper in his family.