Set in the late 1960s, in suburban Chicago, moving into the war landscape of Vietnam and Cambodia, and then into the South of France, Because of Rachel tells the story of the uncertainties that life presents. When Will Stanford graduates from high school, he has no direction. However, life imposes itself on Will, as he finds himself in a marriage he doesn't want, father to his baby daughter who intrigues yet confounds him, pushing him into various dead-end situations. Will finally makes a choice, finding himself in uniform in Vietnam. The tragedies he encounters in the jungle in the middle of nowhere will forever change his life.