Is The Map That Leads to You based on a book? Details explored

The Map That Leads to You is a love drama that arrives on Prime Video on August 20, 2025. Swedish film director Lasse Hallström, best known for directing the music videos by the pop group ABBA, directs it.

The plot weaves together the themes of love, self-discovery, and approaching adulthood by tracing the lives of two strangers united by destiny, only to be torn apart by the demands of life.

The Map That Leads to You is based on the novel of the same name by J.P. Monninger.

---

Details on the origins of The Map That Leads to You explored

The Map That Leads to You is an adaptation of the 2017 novel of the same title by J.P. Monninger. The novel made waves for its lyrical writing, strong characters, and immersive travel storytelling. It explores how one summer is enough to change the life of a person, particularly during the tenuous transition from youth to adulthood.

The screen adaptation is faithful to the source material while bringing it to an on-screen audience. The screenplay is written by Les Bohem and Vera Herbert.

Director Lasse Hallström, who has made movies such as Chocolat and Dear John, brings a sophisticated, emotionally charged tone to the tale, balancing romantic highs with realistic consequences.

Amazon MGM Studios, in collaboration with Temple Hill's production team, Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Isaac Klausner, and John Fischer, have guided the project with sensitivity, maintaining the book's spirit intact.

---

What is The Map That Leads to You about?

The Map That Leads to You tracks Heather Mulgrew, a young college graduate who is on the verge of starting her adult life with a coveted job in New York City. However, prior to entering the real world, she takes one final flight, a European summer adventure with her best friends Amy and Connie.

Heather is a planner, a list maker, and generally extremely worried about the future. She has her whole itinerary mapped out to the final train trip. That is, until Jack comes along.

Jack is her complete opposite in all aspects. He's older, spontaneous, and traveling based on his late grandfather's travel diary, tracing the older man's path through Europe. Their lives intersect on an overnight train to Barcelona, and a chance encounter develops into something much more.

As the two make their way through Spain, Portugal, and Italy, what starts as a summer romance turns into an unforgettable love saga. But Jack carries a secret that can potentially destroy everything that they have formed together. The movie investigates whether love can conquer the grip of reality and whether a summer is enough to alter a lifetime.

Like the book, the movie is expected to capture the feeling of fleeting youth, balancing carefree wanderlust with the weight of growing up.

---

Who stars in the movie?

Heading the cast of The Map That Leads to You is Outer Banks actor Madelyn Cline as Heather Mulgrew.

KJ Apa, known for his work on Riverdale, plays Jack, a handsome and enigmatic traveler who has his own demons to fight.

Supporting the cast includes Madison Thompson as Heather's best friend Amy, and Orlando Norman as Jack's similarly impulsive travel companion Raef. Josh Lucas, Sofia Wylie, Eva García Montiel, and Giuseppe Schillaci join the ensemble.

Filming for The Map That Leads to You took place primarily in Terrassa, Spain, in 2024. The music for the film is composed by Sarah Trevino.

---

Interested viewers can watch The Map That Leads to You on Amazon Prime Video.