A young, American writer, Martin Paige, agrees to chaperone a group of high school seniors on their graduation trip to Paris as a favor to his best friend, teacher Diane Jacobs. Diane hopes Europe will act as a catalyst to lift Martin from his grief following the suicide of his lover, Peter. In Paris, Martin meets a widow, Irène Laureux, still grieving the mysterious death of her husband during the 1968 riots. As Martin begins to fall in love with a student, David McLaren, a terrorist attack on the Metro irrevocably changes all the characters lives.