Olivia lives in a small town in Nova Scotia, Canada along with her son, Thomas, a daughter, Sarah, and has been separated from her French-speaking husband, Jean Marc. She has an estranged brother named Jack Walker who she has not seen for many years, as he refused to return her phone calls, and neglected to attend their father's funeral in Montana, U.S.A.. Due to opening of Cynaco and MacNeil Mining Company, the town expects to have about new 125 new jobs. One day she gets a surprise visit from Jack, both brother and sister update each other, and Jack also gets to meet Thomas and Sarah, as well as Olivia's attractive South Asian neighbor, Lia, a single mother. He soon starts an affair with her, and even moves in her house.

艾默生（阿隆·韦伯 Aaron Webber 饰）是一个非常有文学天赋的男孩，年仅十三岁就已经完成了属于自己的第一部小说。长久以来，艾默生都和父母一起在加拿大东安的一个小岛上过着隐士一样的生活，但随着时间的推移，艾默生的父母发现儿子虽然在文科上成绩非常的优越，但理科却始终是弱项，于是，他们决定把艾默生送到一所公立学校中恶补理科。 和周围的同龄人格格不入的艾默生刚刚转学就受到了同学们的孤立和欺负，只有文学老师唐（Daniel MacIvor 饰）在艾默生的身上投注了别样的关注，这让艾默生渐渐的开始依赖起唐来。实际上，唐是一个同性恋者，也有着自己难以言说的苦闷。