John Tyree (Channing Tatum), a Staff Sergeant in the United States Army is lying on the ground in combat gear with multiple gunshot wounds to his body. Coins begin to fall over him as, in a voiceover, he recalls a childhood trip to the U.S. Mint. He compares himself to a coin in the United States Military, and states that the last thing he thought about before he blacked out was "you".
In 2001, John is on leave when he meets Savannah Lynn Curtis (Amanda Seyfried), a college student on spring break. Over the course of two weeks, Savannah and John fall in love. John meets Savannah's family, her neighbor, Tim Wheddon (Henry Thomas), and Tim's son, Alan (Luke Benward) who has Autism.
Savannah meets John's father (Richard Jenkins), a reclusive man who is only interested in coins (specifically mules). John tells Savannah his father's obsession with coins interfered with their relationship, and they are not close. Savannah mentions to John that his father, like Alan, may have Autism. This upsets John, who gets into a fight with Savannah's neighbor, Randy (Scott Porter) and, in the process, accidentally punches Tim. John apologizes to Tim, leaves Savannah a note, and they spend one last day together. After his leave ends, John and Savannah begin a long-distance relationship through letters. Even though John planned on leaving the army, the September 11 attacks conflict him, and he ultimately chooses to re-enlist.
Over the next two years, John and Savannah correspond through letters. Ultimately, Savannah sends John a Dear John letter, informing him that she has become engaged to someone else. John, deeply depressed by the news, burns her letters.
Thereafter, John is shot several times by an enemy and, even though encouraged to return home, re-enlists. For the next four years, John takes part in many missions. While waiting to receive orders on his unit's next deployment, John is informed that his father had a stroke. When John arrives at the hospital, the doctor informs him that his father is in grave condition. John, feeling guilty that he was not there, asks the doctor if the outcome would have been different if John had been there with his father. The doctor does not think so, and John writes a letter to his father, which he reads to him at the hospital. It is then that the viewers learn that John's voiceover at the beginning of the film was from this letter, in which he told his father that the first thing to cross his mind after he was shot was coins, and the last thing to cross his mind before he lost consciousness was his dad, ultimately the most important thing in his life. Shortly thereafter, his father dies.
John then visits Savannah. He discovers that she married Tim, and that Tim has cancer. Savannah notes that Tim is confined to a hospital and in need of an experimental drug they cannot afford. John visits Tim in the hospital, where Tim apologizes to John for the situation, but indicates that he is happy his son will always have someone to care for him. Tim also notes that Savannah still loves John. John and Savannah have dinner together that evening, and John says goodbye to her.
John sells his father's coin collection, though he keeps the first mule coin they found together. He anonymously donates the money from the sale to finance Tim's drug. The next scene shows John back with his unit, using the mule coin in a coin toss with his soldiers. John then gets an unexpected letter from Savannah. She writes about how she received an anonymous donation to help Tim with his treatment, which gave him the opportunity to return home and say goodbye to friends and family before he died. She notes that she will always wonder where John is and how he is doing, but accepts that she lost the right to know a long time ago.
In the last scene of the film, John walks a bicycle down a block and, after stopping to chain it to a parking meter, locks eyes with Savannah through a cafe window. Savannah exits the cafe, and they share a long embrace.
Ending
The ending in the book differs from the movie. In the book, Tim gets better and John, after several more years in the war, comes back to confirm a qualm. John goes to Savannah's farm at night and waits on a hill, concealed from view as the full moon slowly rose. When all was quiet the night was still and nothing had happened in those past few hours, John almost rode away, disappointed with loss of all hope. But the door opened, and a slight figure emerged, glancing back to make sure no one was following. The figure walked away from the house so that the moon was fully visible. Now John could see that it was indeed Savannah, and she had come out to watch the moon and remember all the moments she had spent with him. John then raises his eyes to the moon as well, and he says "for the briefest instant, it almost feels like we're together again."
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