"The Thirteenth Step" is a dark, noirish thriller dealing with issues of substance abuse, violence, and the irrevocable nature of the past.
Travis has had a rough life: a drinking problem, time on the streets, time in jail. Now he's in AA and living with his parents while he tries to find a way to get his life back on track. Part of the plan is tracking down those he's wronged and making amends.
This is going about as well as one might expect.
But a chance look at a wedding announcement in the local newspaper dredges up all the demons of his past — and one violent moment he can never take back.
The one person he's afraid to confront his ex-girlfriend, Clissa McLaren — beautiful, successful, manipulative, and filled with an impenetrable hate. But she's the one person who may hold the key to his salvation... or his ultimate damnation.