50-year-old Tommy James is a writer for an alternative newspaper in Cincinnati, Ohio. He's preparing for a return trip to Seattle, Washington. This will be his first trip back since his twin brother died there nearly five years ago. Tommy's feeling nothingness. With an ex-wife, an ex-girlfriend, another soon to be ex-girlfriend and with most of his other relationships, Tommy's struggling to find meaning in the choices he's making. He feels like he's going through the motions in his life but not experiencing any kind of real happiness.
Jessica Burns is a pretty young woman in her early 20's. It's been eight years since she ran away from her parents' home in Portland, Maine after they forced her to have an abortion. She hasn't seen them since. Living on the streets in Portland, Oregon, a vicious sexual assault makes her run again, this time to Seattle, Washington where she finds a bartending and waitressing job at The Hurricane Café. Now, circumstances there are leading her to believe she may have to yet again find another city to run to.
On Tommy's first night in Seattle, he has a chance encounter with Jessica at the bar located inside The Hurricane Café-an encounter that sheds light on the nothingness in his life and one that will enable Jessica to start facing her demons and to finally stop running.
