In 1959, divorced after a brief teenage marriage, Anne meets David, the most beautiful man she has ever seen. Wondering if love at first sight is even possible, she knows instinctively that she will love him forever. When she loses him, she sees no choice but to move on, so she marries someone else, determined to listen to her head instead of her heart, even though she is still in love with David. Tully, an army major, appears to be good husband material. Tall and handsome, intelligent, funny, a great dancer, truly an officer and a gentleman, he's a West Point graduate with a promising career. She has never known anyone so charming. But the day the wedding ring goes on, things change. From the outside, her marriage looks fine. No one would ever guess that her charismatic husband is an abusive closet alcoholic. Trapped in a nightmare of a marriage, with three children and only a high-school education, she dreams of getting a degree, leaving Tully, and finding David again. It is not until thirty-five years later, after she has given up all hope of ever finding him again, that she finally reconnects with David, who has become a successful model and actor. It's as if they have never been apart, but Anne wonders why he is so distant, until she discovers the secret that makes him keep her at arm's length.