Running away from a troubled marriage, Kate Frazier hopes to find anonymity with a new home and a new job in Chicago. Despite friendly flirtation from co-workers and others, the shy and reserved Kate keeps her distance, avoiding questions about her sudden arrival and her recent past. When Kate meets Frank Logan, the two discover unexpected satisfaction in their mutual shared silence. Haunted by the troubling choices he has made, Frank finds a kindred spirit in the younger Kate, and, for a moment, the two seem destined to redeem and remake each other. As the holidays and New Year pass against an urban landscape that seems both breathtakingly beautiful and starkly quiet, Kate and Frank's friendship becomes one of necessity and survival. But, neither lonely soul can escape the lives they have left behind. As events unfold and the painful truth slowly emerges, Frank is forced to face the man he truly is, while Kate struggles to become the woman she needs to be.