Every winter, thousands of lakes freeze over. While beautiful, these frozen lakes pose a serious threat to anyone aspiring to walk on its surface. Even though a lake can appear to have thick ice much of it is very delicate and one must be careful when pursuing activities such as ice skating, fishing, or hockey.

In the movie Breakthrough, 14 year old John Smith is playing on a frozen lake in St. Louis with two of his friends when the ice beneath them gives way. While both of John’s friends make it away from the ordeal unscathed, John is trapped underwater for nearly 15 minutes before being dragged out from under the ice and rushed to the nearest hospital. Despite the best efforts of the hospital staff and first responders, John doesn’t regain a pulse. Joyce Smith is given a chance to say goodbye to her adopted son but she refuses to let go of John. After Joyce pleads with the holy spirit, doctors are shocked to find that John has regained tentative heartbeat. John is then quickly airlifted to a hospital more suited to care for him and the severity of his case. While John is in a coma, the doctor working on his case reveals to Joyce and Brian, John’s parents, that John may die, or remain in a persistent vegetative state for the rest of his life. Throughout John’s time in treatment both of his parents, along with the family’s pastor, go through a touching journey with each other and those surrounding them in hopes that John will make a full recovery and once again become capable of living out a life surrounded by those he loves.