Natalie was the little girl across the street who adored Tommy and planned to marry him when they grew up. In the wake of Tommy's broken back, the disintegration of his family, and his father's total change in character, Natalie's disillusioned father took their family and left town.

Now grown, Natalie is a traveling reporter for the magazine, America's Voice, with a special focus on Americans with Disability access challenges. Her past ambushes her when Tommy's father contacts her father, to make amends. Can he be trusted? Is his repentance real?

Then Natalie is assigned to cover the Mission's handicap awareness campaign — led by Tommy. She is stunned and eager to see how the "boy next door" turned out, despite his challenges and life in a wheelchair. Tommy doesn't seem to recognize her, and she doesn't want to embarrass him by bringing up the past. How can she warn him that his father is looking for him to make amends, without embarrassing them both?

Just when is the right time, in the middle of the handicap awareness campaign, writing her story for the magazine, and dealing with threats from some petty criminals blackmailing one of Tommy's friends?