Rachel Murray is 21 years old, platonically infatuated with her housemate James, and less-than-platonically infatuated with her enigmatic, married English professor Dr. Byrne. Over the course of a year, as Rachel and James's lives become more and more deeply entwined with those of Dr. Byrne and his perfect wife Deenie, tensions rise, and a shocking secret threatens everything they hold dear.