Spencer Appleberry, a United States Marine, returns home to find himself in a dead-end job and addicted to alcohol. When a sympathetic Iraqi therapist takes him under her wing and introduces him to her older brother, Spencer finds civilian life can be just as dangerous as war.
Six months after his honorable discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps, Spencer Appleberry is living in a basement apartment and working as a "Meter Maid" in Mesa, Arizona. With no family or friends, and symptoms of PTSD, he turns to alcohol and his one-eyed cat (Plissken) for solace.
When Plissken dies suddenly, Spencer is forced to consider the meaninglessness of existence, and on the advice of a co-worker makes an honest attempt at love through an online dating service. When his date goes badly, he's given a second chance with Aquilah--a beautiful Iraqi 'Spiritual Therapist'.
While he pursues Aquilah, Spencer is haunted by a strange recurring dream; a WMD detonation in Phoenix, a dead cactus, and a woman that he cannot identify. When he suspects the woman may be Aquilah, he submits to therapy sessions with her even though he doubts their value.
After several failed attempts to "hook-up" with Aquilah, she invites him to Barzaks, an ominous nightclub in Phoenix, wherein Spencer meets Aquilah's older brother, Ameer. After a drunken evening with Ameer, Spencer suspects Ameer may have terrorist leanings. He attempts to report this to the FBI, only to be rebuffed by the eccentric FBI agent, Agent Cresco.
When Ameer invites Spencer to "go shooting" with him in the desert, he and Ameer get staggeringly drunk and confront the fact that Ameer's mysterious female driver and Fate have brought them all together for a final showdown.
