John Tinen is a common unassuming man that works in an ice cream factory. He is single and does not date much. John was a quiet and gentle man which is quite a departure from the exuberance of his youth. He used to study the martial arts heavily and particularly the art of swordsmanship. John was ranked pretty high in his old martial arts schools but all that was silenced with time and maturity. Additionally, John used to be a health nut but after a while became a fast food junkie like most people. Overweight and lethargic was his modes of life now days. Some might say that he was on a self-destructive course of not taking care of himself; a slow suicide, slow enough to be acceptable by society. But, that all was about to change; as John developed a new appreciation for life.
One day, John had a sharp pain in his right side and wondered, if it is was a gas pain or something more serious. John tried to ignore the pain, hoping it might go away but it did not. He finally gave in and went to a doctor. The doctor examined him and then sent him to a specialist. Like most specialists, they assume if you are there and referred by a general doctor you must really have something wrong with you. In this case, apparently he does as the pain is getting worse. Extensive tests are done on an array of possibilities. Eventually, the tests results come back and John sits in front of the Doctor to hear the bad news.
John is told he has cancer and it is inoperable. He will be fine till near the end and will suffer a very painful decline. John is given a year to live. John is told that for most of it he will be able to function normally. John leaves the hospital in a daze. He thinks to himself why him. He ponders of all things he has not done, like getting married, having kids on and on. The regrets pile up like mail in the dead letter office. John goes to the beach and meditates on how to spend his final year. John goes from place to place thinking, pondering, wondering what to do with himself. He finally decides he is not going to die sick in bed. John wants to go down fighting. To die with his boots on as they say. Well, John decides he is too old to join the US military and then there is no guarantee he will be sent into conflict and see action, anyway. Then, John sees that there are wars and battles being fought all the time in South American countries and they recruit anyone even non-citizens of their country. So, he signs up with the Bolivian army and fights domestic terror groups.
John is training takes a whole week. After the week, John is armed, uniformed and sent into an area of battle. The battle is won in 15 minutes and it turns out that was the only resistance that country had so the war is over.
So, John slips out of the country and joins the Peruvian army and fights terror guerillas there. Battle after battle and each is won and he sustains no injuries. John is becoming very frustrated his plan is not working out as several months have passed and he has not died yet.
John ponders the situation then joins the Columbian army to fight illegal drug trade. John is happy, he has found an enemy that has power. John and his fellow soldiers engage in an operation against the cartels and his army group is badly out numbered. John knows the odds so he fearlessly fights with nothing to lose. John's bravery and zealousness to engage the enemy inspires his fellow soldiers and despite the overwhelming odds the battle is won and the cartels are toppled. As a result, John is revered and a hero of the people. Awarded and then given a high rank and desk job, John sits perplexed that he cannot seem to get himself killed. He then puts a gun to his head and thinks; I will just do, it finally. Suddenly, John stops and thinks he then decides his "luck" cannot go on forever; surely some battle will cut him down.
After pondering the dilemma, John decides he will fight for the bad guys since they keep losing. So, John joins the remnants of the cartels and rebuilds them. The cartels start to battle the Columbian army and when the army discovers their hero general is now with the cartel; they join him in causing a coop of the government. As a result, the government is toppled and John is installed as the new dictator and president of Columbia. As John stands on a balcony as thousands of citizens chanting his name, he cannot believe this is happening.
John decides that he must have enemies everywhere and all he has to do is walk around without bodyguards in public. So, John alerts the media he will be visiting certain cities at certain times by himself and unarmed. John decides, surely, someone will assassinate him. John's visits inspire the people. The people all love him and see him as a great warrior and public figure that is obviously willing to be among them. John's would be enemies were softened by his bravery and leadership. Peace and prosperity quickly take hold of the country and John is regarded as a great man, even among numerous religions.
John decides that he could simply tax the people to death and have the police round up people to be tortured then there would be a revolt. But, for some reason John decides that he cannot do these things, as he feels he has accomplished something great here. Maybe to die now naturally would be a good way to go out. John decides to retire to die in peace and installs a man, a good and kind man who had followed him, in office. John then visits one of the doctors to give him an update when he will die. After he is thoroughly examined, the doctors tell him there is nothing wrong with him. It must have been a misdiagnosis. John laughs heartily and suddenly has a feeling of mortality come over him. He decides to go back to the US and do all the things in life he wanted to do originally.
After arriving in the US, he starts having attempts on his life from groups he fought against in the early battles. One after another, they come after him as he fights this time to not die, but to save his life. Because of John's experiences, he battles one assassin after another and barely wins. Finally, John's contacts in other countries tell him it is over, that he seems to be unbeatable and the heat is off. John may now live in peace. As time goes by, John falls in love with a nice lady and makes her his wife. She is pregnant and John is elated that his life is on track. She holds a surprise birthday party for John and as he celebrates John's body becomes weak and he is very nauseous. Going to the hospital, they tell him this is the beginning of the cancer he was first diagnosed with a year ago. John told them that Columbian doctors told him his original diagnosis was wrong. His doctor tells him they often do that to leaders of their country so they don't get killed for giving bad news. But now he will die in a month. John is sad that he is going to die in the way he fought so hard against and that the life that he really wanted was just starting.
Days go by, as John's wife takes care of him and his health slowly but surely declines. Day after day, she tends to John. One day, the president of Columbia stops by to talk to him. Alone, the president tells John that the country is still doing well and a huge statue has been place in his honor. He tells John he should not worry about his wife and child to come. They will be well taken care of with all the resources the President has in his power. John tells him that he did all of it to die and escape this decline of death. He wanted to go out fighting. The President tells him that he freed a country, gave life and peace to countless and now has a wife with a child that are going to live well. What other person has that kind of legacy? The President tells John, you will die well. They shake hands and he leaves. John's wife kisses him and goes to bed. John lies there recalling everything in the past year. John is finally happy and closes his eyes to embrace death.