"Alpha Male" is a story of family life: of bad parenting, family politics, repressed emotions, great love and devastating loss. When Jim Ferris dies, leaving behind a family fractured by his absence, his young son Jack is prematurely burdened with the responsibility of looking after the family. When Jim's widow, Alice meets and marries a new man, a firm wedge comes between Jack and the rest of the family. It is another eleven years before the rifts can even begin to heal as they all come together again for Jack's 21st birthday weekend.