Title from disc.

Westwood HS Production

Produced in association with Camplex and Campbell County School District Arts and Education Partnership ; written by Joe Lunne and Paul Dowler with Adrienne Mondragon, Kellen Gatlin and Art Huber.

Executive producers : Dr. Lyn Velle and Susie Dowler ; associate producer : Paul Dowler.

Directed by Joe Lunne.

Lucas Studle, Megan Longhofer, Paul Drew, Lillie Juntunen, Pieter Gerrits, Trevor Good, Jake Burgraff, Casey Painter, Johanna Suchor, Bonnie Cohee.

Spike Doyle, a deaf mute high school artist, comes from a large family with a father who is not supportive of his artistic efforts. His little sister communicates with him in sign language and supports him and he can read lips, but he feels increasingly unwanted and misunderstood so he runs away from home one night. Meanwhile, an older man driving across Wyoming in a white convertible has the strange experience of the car driving off on its own when he stops to consult his map on the side of the road and he then falls victim to a heart attack, rolling down a hill off the side of the road. The car mysteriously continues traveling on its own only stopping when it pulls alongside a hitchhiking Spike. Spike sees a road map on the hood of the car with several places circled in red with a business in Gillette, Daniels Books, as one of the many destinations for the missing occupant of the car. He drives the abandoned car to Gillette and goes into Daniels Books store to ask if the clerk knows whose car it might be. The clerk can't help Spike with his question but Spike finds a car registration for a Winston Cahill in the car's glove box with an address in Pine Haven, Wyoming (Keyhole). He stops at a local Kwick Shop for gas and while inside paying for his purchase, a high school age girl, Bridget Neilson, climbs into the backseat of the car and hides by lying down. Spike drives out of town following the map to Pine Haven (Keyhole). After they are outside of town, Bridget pops upright in the back seat and begins talking to Spike about why she wanted to leave her hometown of Gillette to escape to someplace bigger like Rapid City, South Dakota. She does all the talking because Spike does not realize she is there until she touches him on the shoulder and he stops the car suddenly in shock. Her nose is bumped in the sudden stop and starts to bleed. Spike gives her a handkerchief for the bleeding and she tells him she is fine and to keep driving on not realizing he is a deaf mute. He stops at the Devil's Tower cafe for something to eat and she gives him her backpack to put into the car's trunk while they are inside eating. When Spike opens the trunk he discovers it is loaded with books. Once inside the cafe, Bridget continues to do all the talking, still not realizing Spike cannot hear her or speak to her. When they leave the cafe Bridget's dad is outside in a pickup truck and he takes her back to Gillette while she protests. Spike also drives back to Gillette and takes the books in the trunk inside Daniels Books store to sell them, keeping only 3 of them : Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote, and Sir Thomas More's Utopia. Spike sees Bridget's name and address on her backpack in the trunk of the car and draws a picture of her from memory on his sketchpad. He drives to her address to return her backpack and arrives there just as she is climbing out a top floor window to run away again. He finally makes her understand he is deaf and mute so she shows him some sign language she remembers learning in grade school.

Spike drives to the Pine Haven (Keyhole) address on the car's registration and uses the key on the car's key chain to get into the house there. Inside the house are piles of books everywhere. While Bridget goes to the restroom, Spike spots a hooded figure outside the house through the window and goes outside to investigate but the hooded figure has disappeared when he looks outside for it. Bridget tells Spike to go out for food and she will cook it when he brings it back for them. He brings back spaghettios and pop tarts and milk. While she is preparing their meal, Spike starts to read Anna Karenina. Bridget assumes the house is Spike's. After eating, Bridget turns on the radio and teaches Spike to dance. Spike draws pictures of Bridget while she dances. She tells him he has a real gift for drawing. They kiss. The next morning Bridget leaves with her backpack before Spike awakens, leaving him a goodbye note on the kitchen table. She catches a ride with a pickup truck going toward the east. Spike wakes up, realizes she is gone and reads her goodbye note. Then he packs a box with some of the books found in the house and puts them into the trunk of the car. He sells the books once more at Daniels Books store in Gillette. He finishes reading Anna Karenina and throws it into the trash can outside the book store. He goes to an art store and buys painting supplies. He takes them back to the house at Keyhole and working outside paints a picture of Bridget with them. rereading her goodbye note when finished. He packs her note, the picture he painted, and the map with highlighted spots in South Dakota and travels to Crazy Horse Monument. In the town of Custer he stops in a gift shop and sees a painting hanging on the wall that is crooked. He straightens it and the store's young female clerk tells him it is local art her mother, who owns the gift shop, sells for the artist. He shows her the picture he painted and she tells him it is much better than what they have for sale by local artists and suggests he bring in more of his paintings to sell at the gift shop for $150.00 each. He goes back the house at Keyhole and while he is cooking supper, Lenny, a young high school male who lives in Keyhole, breaks into the house with the intent to rob it. He surprises Spike and when Spike makes him understand the house is not his and he is using the old man's car and house, Lenny figures Spike is a criminal and wants to learn tips and tricks from him. Lenny tells Spike that the house's and car's owner, Winston Cahill, is famous for being Keyhole's poet. Together they drive back to the Custer gift shop with a few more of Spike's paintings to see how they sell there. The young female clerk asks Spike to go with her to the coffee shop for something to eat, but Spike sees the hooded figure again and says no and that he has to leave. On the way back to Keyhole, Spike lets Lenny drive the car.

Spike paints more pictures for the Custer gift store and when he delivers them, the earlier pictures have been sold already and Spike is told by the shop?s owner that the price per painting should be raised to 300.00. Lenny gets Spike more art supplies and delivers them to him at Keyhole. Spike still continues to see the hooded figure and often many hooded figures while he is painting outside but he can never make contact with them without them disappearing. Taking breaks from painting outside, Spike reads Don Quixote. While taking more paintings to the gift store in Custer, Spike meets an art dealer from Chicago who has bought most of his previous paintings and who encourages Spike to move to Chicago where this art dealer can represent him. While talking with the art dealer, Spike sees many hooded figures in the gift store and takes his newest paintings and leaves the gift shop. As they drive back to Keyhole, Lenny yells at Spike for blowing a big opportunity with the Chicago art dealer. Lenny shows Spike all the things he has stolen from the gift shop over their visits there. Spike tells Lenny to return them all, but Lenny tells him he was being a good thief and all those things he stole are his. Spike leaves the house with his clothes and paintings, leaving Lenny behind. He stops for gas and throws away Don Quixote in the trash can at the gas station.

Fast forward to Chicago 5 years later where Spike is living as an artist who has a secretary and an agent and an upcoming art show. In his studio are many finished paintings and many hooded figures. His secretary is talking to his agent on the telephone and says that Spike has been in a funk lately and she is not sure he will have the last painting for the next day's art show finished in time as a result. Spike titles the painting he is working on "The Last One" and leaves his studio after he sees the many hooded figures there. As he leaves he runs into more hooded figures outside in the hallways. The last hooded figure is his little sister who asks Spike who he is running from? That night Spike's agent wakes up and goes to see Spike at his studio where he has finished his last painting. Spike tells his agent he wants to quit painting because he doesn't know who he is anymore and that he never really knew who he was. His agent tells Spike he just needs a break from painting or a change of cities, mentioning New York, Paris, and Rome. The agent calls Spike's paintings "a splash of your madness on canvas". But Spike insists that this art show will be his last one. A sign at the art show reads "Spike 3 Abstract Surreal". Spike talks with his secretary and art patrons at the show then sees Bridget there with a young girl who signs to him "My name is Isabel". Spike signs back to Isabel "My name is Spike". Isabel signs to him "I like to paint too". Spike visits with Bridget and sees a ring on her left hand and she admits to being married now and tells Spike her husband is a good man who loves Isabel as if she were his own child. Isabel is really Spike's child. Together Isabel and Spike look at his paintings and she tells him she likes one of the smallest ones. Spike takes this painting off the gallery wall and gives it to Isabel as a gift. Bridget gives Spike a picture of Isabel to keep. Isabel gives Spike a kiss on the cheek and then Bridget and Isabel leave the art show. Spike looks around the gallery and notices all the hooded figures have disappeared. Spike goes to the parking garage and uncovers the white convertible he still drives and finds the book Utopia there with the old map of Wyoming and South Dakota places circled in red from when he first found the convertible.

Spike drives the convertible to Mount Rushmore, South Dakota taking breaks to read Utopia. His destination is his childhood home. When he arrives his little sister is outside and sees him drive up. She lets her mom and dad know that Spike is back. His mom hugs him and his dad invites him inside for supper. Spike shows them his paintings in two art magazines. His little sister continues to communicate with him through signing and his dad asks him why Spike never wrote to them when he left to let them know he was ok? Spike signs to his little sister who tells his dad "Kids need to be held and loved and listened to even when they are different like I was. Don't give up on kids who are different like you did with me." His dad tells him he regrets how they treated him, which caused him to run away. Spike's mom and dad hug him. Spike signs to his sister that he has a 5 year old daughter and shows Isabel's picture to them all. They all are happy for Spike and want to meet Isabel. He tells them it is complicated right now but promises to make the meeting happen. Outside Spike's mom takes a picture of him with his sister by the convertible. Spike tells them he will come back soon and drives away. He stops by the side of the road and finishes reading Utopia, then throws it off the side of the road where it lands beside the skeleton of the old man whose body has never been found.