Not Waving But Drowning is a chronological look at growing up, formed from two different stories. The two sets of friends represent the American dilemma between what you have known and what you hope to know; the tear between longing for the past and the desire to explore.
After a tragic accident involving his mother, Franck, a man in his 20's, alters reality to help him make the most difficult decision of his life: the decision between life and death.