Character Relationship Map: Day Zero

Characters

• Aaron Feller (played by Elijah Wood) — protagonist

  A novelist who receives an induction notice and feels unprepared for military service. He spends his 30 days attempting to prepare for soldier life, working out with a collapsing Bowflex machine and c...

• George Rifkin (played by Chris Klein) — protagonist

  A corporate attorney who opposes the war and wants to stay home with his wife, a recent cancer survivor. He spends his 30 days researching ways to legally dodge the draft, facing difficulties in avoid...

• Jams Dixon (played by Jon Bernthal) — supporting

  A fearless cab driver who initially has no doubts about reporting for duty. His perspective shifts when he falls in love with a sociology student, causing his previously black-and-white views on the w...

• Rifkin's Father (played by John Rothman) — supporting

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Rifkin's Father → George Rifkin (father)

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• George Rifkin → Jams Dixon (Social Friend) — George and Dixon remain connected despite their opposing attitudes toward service.

  George and Dixon are two members of the three-friend group confronting the reinstated draft.

• Aaron Feller → Jams Dixon (Social Friend) — Aaron and Dixon share a friendship shaped by contrasting views of duty.

  Aaron and Dixon belong to the trio of friends whose relationships are tested as reporting day approaches.

• Aaron Feller → George Rifkin (Social Friend) — Aaron and George are longtime friends confronting different responses to military service.

  The plot identifies Aaron, George, and Dixon as three friends who receive induction notices and face the same thirty-day deadline.

Story Analysis

Three friends confront compulsory service, war, love, family, and their own changing definitions of honor.

Plot Progression

1. A Notice From The Future — Future America reinstates the military draft for the war on terror. Aaron, George, and Dixon receive induction notices and face a thirty-day reporting deadline.
2. Three Roads To Service — Aaron prepares for soldiering despite feeling unready. George turns toward family and researches ways to avoid a war he believes is wrong.
3. Certainty Under Pressure — Dixon begins as the most fearless and certain of the three. Falling in love makes his previously black-and-white understanding of service more complicated.
4. Fractured Companions — As reporting day approaches, the friends fight and fall out over their different responses to duty, war, and personal responsibility.
5. Honor Before Day Zero — The three friends come together and comfort each other. Each reaches a personal understanding of what it means to serve with honor before reporting day.