Ardent and idealistic, Esme Garland arrives in Manhattan to study art history at Columbia University. When she falls in love with New York blue-blood Mitchell van Leuven, life seems to be clear sailing, until she falls pregnant and he abruptly ends it all. To make ends meet Esme starts work at a small West Side bookstore with a colorful crew of characters – but then Mitchell, glittering with charm and danger, comes back on the scene.