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After severely injuring Peter Driscal in an empty parking lot, mischief-maker Cole Matthews is in major trouble. But instead of jail time, Cole is given an alternative: a one-year banishment to a remote Alaskan island.
  This program—called Circle Justice—is based on Native American traditions that provide healing for the criminal mind. To avoid serious jail time, Cole resolves to go.
  While there, Cole is mauled by a mysterious white bear and left for dead. Thoughts of his abusive parents, helpless Peter, and his intense anger cause him to examine the root of his troubled ways and seek redemption—from the spirit bear that attacked him, from his victims, and from himself.

柯尔从小在暴力下生长，因此自己也充满暴力，屡屡被送到警察单位管训。一次他将同学彼得殴打成伤，小区的人采纳原住民百年前设计的“环行正义”，把他流放到荒岛一年，让他有机会透过爱、原谅、疗伤的试炼，来替代牢役的拘禁。
      起初，柯尔很不甘心，放火烧了别人为他准备的住所和物资，试图逃离孤岛，又因去招惹一只灵熊而受到攻击，险些丧命。他躺在树下，以地面的苔藓、小虫等掺和着雨水，一起果腹。这次濒临死亡的野外求生，让他看到小动物如何和自然搏斗，争取生存的机会，也感受到自己只是大生物圈的一部分。他有了新的体悟，也帮助彼得找回了生活的勇气。他们受伤的心灵都获得了最彻底的治愈。