Adam Carstairs and Domenic Morton first meet at a local hospital where Adam is a volunteer, and Domenic is visiting his older brother who was badly injured in an auto accident. The day Domenic learns his brother is unlikely to recover, he’s in desperate need of someone to confide in and he and Adam go for a walk on the Niagara Escarpment. The weather closes in and they’re caught in a freak snowstorm. Unable to make it back to where they left their vehicles, they’re forced to shelter in an abandoned cottage.

The next morning, Adam awakens to find Domenic gone. There’s a note about Domenic’s brother having taken a turn for the worse, but Adam figures it’s just an excuse for Domenic to leave without saying goodbye. What he thought was the beginning of a friendship obviously didn’t mean the same to Domenic, and Adam doesn’t expect to see him again.

But later, when Domenic shows up at Adam’s bookstore and tries to explain what happened, Adam’s still hurting and he tells him to leave. off?