This Brother is Free is about an improbable friendship and the twists of fate, good and bad, that change people s lives. John Douglas is a successful but increasingly jaded magazine writer; Max Brandt is a wealthy and eccentric auto parts executive. What brings them together despite their many differences is Max s (and the family business s) rags-to-riches story. They agree, each with their own motives, noble and otherwise, to collaborate on what they envision as an inspiring epic, a made-in-America fairytale-come-true. They are met with resistance and setbacks from the outset - family conflicts, a life-threatening illness, a marriage in crisis - yet the work continues, the friendship deepens, and their project, over the course of a two-year long, on again-off again roller coaster ride, changes constantly in its form, direction, and even its purpose.