The year starts badly for Mark Hutton, who finds that his wife has left him on New Year's Eve. His mood isn't improved when an old friend arrives from Australia and insists on organizing a reunion dinner with the boys who were in their class at school. That evening ends in tragedy, though Mark discovers that one of the guests has married the girl he fell in love with all those years ago. The guest also produces a family photograph with his son, who bears a startling resemblance to Mark. Closeted in his own small and unprofitable bookshop, Mark wrestles with his problems - romantic, professional, and social. But he soon discovers that a lot can happen in a year.