Dylan Riley was only five years old when his father, a New York City police officer, was killed in the line of duty, leaving him an orphan. Alone and without a family, Dylan ends up enlisting in the Army and serving overseas, but upon his discharge, he returns to New York with one goal in mind: to find and kill the man who took his father from him. But he needs a job to pay a private investigator to find the man responsible, and thanks to Nick, a friendly newsstand vendor, and a mysterious advertisement in the local paper, he lands a job as a live-in clerk at a used bookstore owned by Rose, the kind grandmotherly proprietor.

At the same time, he meets and befriends Payton, a single mother who works at a local diner. Her ex-husband, a New York Firefighter, was killed on September 11, and Dylan empathizes with her pain and the loneliness he sees in her son Brandon, who finds himself suddenly without a father. Dylan is drawn to them and as he grows closer to Payton and they begin to date, some of Dylan’s inner anger and pain seem to lessen. With his new relationship coupled with the encouragement of Rose, Nick and an elderly bookstore patron named Charles, it looks like Dylan has found a purpose in life outside of his dark inner struggle. Adding fuel to his new life, Dylan accidentally uncovers that there may be more of a connection between himself and Rose than he ever thought possible. Has he been steered to her through mysterious and otherworldly forces?

However, when ex con is finally found, Dylan feels the old anger rise, the need to avenge his father’s death overpowering. Will his love for Payton and his newfound “family” help Dylan forgive the past, or will he throw it all away in one unforgivable and irrevocable act of violence?