Warren Schmidt is retiring from his position as an actuary with Woodmen of the World, an insurance company inOmaha, Nebraska. Schmidt is given a retirement dinner that seems to bring no comfort. Schmidt finds it hard to adjust to his new life outside of work, feeling useless. One evening, he sees a television advertisement about a foster program for African children, Plan USA, and decides to sponsor a child. He soon receives an information package with a photo of his foster child, a small Tanzanian boy named Ndugu Umbo, to whom he relates his life in a series of candid, rambling letters.