Harry Blake's longtime girlfriend, Kasia, has left him, and his dissertation and life seem to be going nowhere. When Ian Abadi joins the staff of the university library where Harry works, the two quickly become friends.
In Ian, Harry finds an uncomplicated reprieve from his love life disappointment. But when Ian saves them from a bar fight against several opponents, Harry realizes he doesn't know his friend as well as he thought.
When a mysterious collection of German books gets donated to the university library, Ian shows an unexplained interest. While cataloging the books in a dark basement of the library, Harry discovers an old letter hidden within one of the volumes. He immediately sends a copy to Ian for translation.
Obsessed with the letter, Ian needs to know whether Harry has shown it to anyone else. But when Harry tries to track down his friend, Ian has disappeared. In his quest for answers, Harry must question everything he thinks he knows if he is to survive the consequences of the letter's discovery.
