Adam Fischer is a quiet and bright sixteen-year-old in Detroit where his mom fixes his collar and step-dad hugs him in public. Life would be happy and routine if not for two week-long visitations with his natural dad in North Carolina. Adam feels he cannot satisfy the outdoorsman and blames him for abandoning a family. Matt Fischer needs the acceptance of his son, but also wants the boy to understand his set of values and to accept that part of a father in a son's genes. Paternal Rites is a harrowing tale that ponders whether acceptance can ever be too late.