"The Fountain" threads three stories together to get at a central theme: that life is not worth living if it is spent trying to avoid death. Tom (Hugh Jackman) is a conquistador, a genetic cancer scientist, and finally an interstellar astronaut trying to keep his lover, Izze (Rachel Weisz) alive. As he searches for the Biblical Tree of Life during the Spanish Inquisition, the cure for cancer, and finally, the Holy Aztec Star of the Underworld, Tom comes to realize a fundamental truth about futility, and about death. Tom faces challenges not only from Izze, but also from the scientists around him and his own personal doubts. The plot jumps many times, but the union of the three stories illuminates the struggle and excitement of approaching death with new vision.