A Canadian Buddhist monk who lives in Sri Lanka teaches an American woman how to practice the religion through online video classes. As he waits for her to join him, he considers his role in the sect and how they want him to go back to his home in Canada to open a new temple. He dislikes this idea as that means he would have to live in his dad's basement again. His student, Elise, joins him on Skype. She is stressed, largely because of her job as a defense attorney, and seeks help to find a new way to think about things. The monk has trouble too, mostly due to the fact that he is sick and has had trouble giving up his connection to his body to focus on the mental. He tells her about how his life changed — seemingly for the negative — after he began to practice Buddhism. But, if she stands strong, she too can be like him; fully practicing, able to let go of any emotional response to the past or present. He reveals just how violent his family was to his turn to Buddhism and why that has made him anxious about going home. The whole time he is telling her this story, he experiences various symptoms of his fever, nausea, and rash. He also tries to let go of his increasingly strong sexual feelings for Elise. The Buddhist, whose name is revealed to be Sean, tells his life story to Elise, and focuses on how his personal and social lives fell apart after his conversion. After the call ends, Sean falls deeply into his sickness. A doctor finds that he has dengue fever and recommends he go to a hospital for his dehydration. There, he gets another call from Elise saying that she's happy he helped her get over her emotions. Sean's father calls him at the same time, and he begins to cry.