Max goes to live on the street to collect material to write his next book. He feels it is necessary for him to do this so that he is sure his writings reflect the truth. Not knowing much about living as a homeless person he has difficulty surviving. To make natters worst a storm takes out his cardboard house and in finding a new place to get out of the rain he sees a murder. The killer also sees Max and begins to chase him. He doesn't catch Max but goes to the police and they puts out a wanted poster saying Max is the killer, so he cannot return to his old life easily.
While on the street Max meets Hog a homeless man who helps him how to survive by living in a homeless camp in a tent. Max does not reveal why he is on the street and begins to talk to the other people in the camp to ask them why they chose to leave their old lives.
By luck Max meets an old colleague who volunteers in a soup kitchen and he persuades her to help him with the material he has collected for his book. She is aware that he is wanted for murder but after he tells her the story of what he saw she believes he is innocent. They meet clandestinely and he gives her the information he has collected and she puts it on a her computer for him to use later.
Max and Hog get part-time jobs working in an old house that is being renovated and they meet Deidre there. Deidre is a woman who has a dream of becoming a clothing designer but has no way of breaking to the business so she works as an unpaid intern. She applies for a job there and gets turned down and she quits. She begins work as a personal assistant and a gentleman's escort to make money. She gets involved with a police detective and finds out that the killer who is blackmailing the detective, that's why he is so willing to put out wanted posters looking for Max and goes along with the idea that Max is a serial killer. The killer also takes an interest in Deidre and after finding out that she works as an escort and the detective doesn't know that he begins to blackmail her also.
Max and Hog have been working at a big house as painters helpers. The house is almost completed and the painters ask Hog and Max to come work at another house which turns out to be the property of the killers company COO Marlene. The person that was murdered was Marlene's boyfriend but she doesn't know who killed him.
A surprise comes when the police come to the camp and Max thinks they are looking for him when they are really looking for Hog for past vehicular manslaughter charges. They arrest Hog and placed in jail and Max calls upon one of his old friend to help Hog and get him freed. Max wants to save Hog so he tells Hog's story about how he became homeless due to a terrible accident causing his mother-in-law and son to die, his wife seriously hurt and Hog's arms and hands burned badly. Hogs wife tells him she never wanted to see him again for killing their son and mother but is persuaded by Max and the lawyer to testify at the trial and Hog goes free.
Hog and Max continue working at the house and one day Max has an encounter with a mentally ill street woman and gets arrested. Just as he is about to be freed, they discover his outstanding warrant for murder.
Max goes to jail and Hog tries to get the lawyer that defended him to help Max. During the trial the real killer is shot and Max is wounded but is freed. He goes back to his old life and remains friends with Hog and the others who tried to help him.