A rushed lunch and a bold move "introduces" Carlie to a stranger-one who hardly acknowledges her existence as he sits across from her, sharing his booth to save her a wait in a long line. What began as a random encounter becomes a weekly date in which Carlie chatters about her life to a silent lunchmate. Much about him interests her-his slightly Euro fashion sense, his commitment to the work he does as he eats his lunch week after week, and his evident attention to the running monologue she shares between bites of meals that he inevitably pays for. Dean gets to know the woman across from him-looks forward to their lunches each week, learns valuable lessons about himself--but when the cafe is threatened, and then when she doesn't show up one day, he suspects their unusual "friendship" means more to him than he imagined.