Michael Groves, an artist from Atlanta, goes for two weeks to a secluded but very expensive and elegant hotel in the western mountains of North Carolina to paint the scenery there. While there, he meets Jonathan Wolfe, who lives in a pavilion close to the hotel and they begin what turns out to be a very close friendship. About a week and a half later, Jonathan leaves for New York on an important business trip that will take him to Europe. They plan to meet again when he returns. Paul, the hotel's concierge, ends up showing Michael an old newspaper, hanging in the hotel office which alerts Michael to an unbelievable understanding about Jonathan, sending him on a life-and-death quest. He knows he must accomplish this quest even though by doing so, it will change his life forever.