Stella and Matt would make the perfect couple... if relationships didn't terrify them. It is obvious they are destined to be together but they stubbornly remain apart. A singer-songwriter, Matt paints vivid pictures about love in his lyrics but real relationships give him writer's block. For someone hell-bent on avoiding commitment, he surprises himself when he seeks Stella out: she is unlike anyone he's ever met but he is still too scared to come right out and say what he really feels - not even if the happiness of a lifetime depends on it. Brought up on a diet of great heroes and heroines, Stella has set the romantic bar high but she's no fool. When she meets Matt in Florence, for a moment she thinks he is different, until he ends up with her best friend Jen. Still, it looks as if Fate is determined to keep them together as their friendship survives the ups and downs of the next decade. All comes to a head when both face marriage proposals and they begin to regret the road not taken. Stella leaves her career in Hong Kong for New York and Matt, determined to lay all ghosts to rest. It is there, over the international dateline that their past, present and future collide and Fate allows Stella a second chance.