A chance encounter on a bus brings together two young people. Stephen is painfully shy, and is returning to his bleak existence in the city. Grace, is full of expectation, and journeys to meet the father who abandoned her as a child. Upon arriving in New York City, they go their separate ways. Stephen returns to his quiet apartment, sure that he's blown another opportunity. Grace, meanwhile, confronts her father, only to discover that he's nothing like the image she has built up of him all these years. He is, in fact, a broken down alcoholic, unwilling to let anything breach his isolation, including his daughter. She leaves him shattered. That evening, reunited, Stephen gives Grace a tour of New York City at night. Though her eyes, he comes to see some of the magic and beauty of his lonely world. Briefly, the two have found shelter from their unhappiness. "Sometimes it's not so bad, you know? The whole existence thing," Stephen tells her. "Sometimes there are things that come along to redeem the whole experience. Like gifts, you know?"