Math teacher Michael Carter is not a happy man. His daughter, Jessica, has gone missing. Then his wife dies from Hodgkin's Disease. Alone and depressed, he doesn't believe he can ever love another woman. Michael must overcome obstacles if he is ever to find happiness again. At the beginning of the new school year at Primrose Junior Secondary School in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a girl named Elizabeth is in Michael's math class. She can't get along with anyone. Like Michael, she is also unhappy and seems troubled. Teased by other students, Elizabeth has a poor home life. She is removed from her family and placed in a foster home. Michael's life is starting to take a turn for the better. He meets a woman named Alison at a local coffee shop and they share some fun adventures. But she has troubles of her own, suffering in an abusive marriage. The two fall in love, and then something strange happens ...