When Luke Clayborne accepts the invitation to his younger sister's commencement ceremony, his tightly woven existence begins to unravel. His deaf sibling leaves him with no doubt that she resents his failure to learn how to communicate with her in Sign Language. Jade Allenwood is a woman caught between her two cultures. The one-time musical prodigy lost her hearing in an accident. Necessity forced her to trade her piano keys for computer keys and get on with her life. As a business teacher and guidance counselor at the Kennelworth Institute for the Deaf, she has become a passionate spokesperson for her students. From the moment of their first meeting, Luke is intrigued by the outspoken teacher. She considers his inability to sign with his sister is inexcusable. Despite an attraction she can neither explain nor ignore, she is determined to keep her distance from a man who has no understanding of her world. Luke agrees that he is wrong and challenges Jade to take on the task of teaching him to communicate with his sister. As the two work together, Luke's growing relationship with his sister is matched by a growing attraction to Jade. But learning Sign Language and understanding the differences between a silent and a hearing world are not easy - not even for two people falling in love.