A struggling salesman Chris Gardner (Will Smith) takes custody of his son (Jaden Smith) as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional endeavor. Chris is a talented, but marginally employed salesman. Struggling to make ends meet, Gardner finds himself and his five-year-old son evicted from their San Francisco apartment with nowhere to go. When Gardner lands an internship at a prestigious stock brokerage firm, he and his son endure many hardships, including living in shelters, in pursuit of his dream of a better life for the two of them.