A young scientist's objectivity is put to the test by a plain-spoken stranger and a virulent pathogen.
Six months into a two-year fellowship in Boston, British postdoc Alice longs for her floundering project to take off, not only for its potentially momentous implications for fighting disease, but also to guarantee a conditional promotion in London when she returns-and maybe even to finally secure the respect and affection of her old flame, Ben.
Still half-believing in fairy tales, she is thrown off-balance by a seemingly magical first encounter with Peter that inexplicably ends the moment she speaks. He is gone before she can apologize. When she sees him next, he is in close contact with a woman she can't stand. Angry and humiliated, she takes ill-fated solace in the arms of another man.
Ignoring Peter's ongoing overtures of friendship, her plummeting self-esteem is offset by the sudden materialization of her long-elusive desires, including a visit from an overtly seductive Ben. However, her visceral response to each positive development propels her on a journey of self-discovery that, as well as re-configuring her world view, becomes intimately entwined with the insidious symptoms of a life-threatening virus contracted by Peter.