When a horrendous and totally preventable tragedy—the death of their teenage daughter Eden—befalls the Averys, they have good reason to file a lawsuit. Karen, herself a lawyer, seeks a court victory more for its therapeutic value than for the money, but Alan, a physician, resists, because unforgotten, damning events in his past are sure to be brought out at trial. Unbeknownst to both, the responsible intern’s conscience leads him to prescribe such severe self-punishment that a trial would never take place.

As parents and intern each suffer their grief, anger, and guilt in isolation, healing comes about through the pastoral skill and goodwill of a Roman Catholic priest and the love of a Jewish college freshman, who together show the sufferers the way to a reconciliation far more meaningful and far sweeter than revenge.