A few days after the September 11 attacks, a middle-aged man meets with an old college friend of his, Mags, to discuss a strange occurrence. Mags and the man had been friends with a third man, Geoffrey, when they were in college. Although Mags and the man reached middle age, Geoff died at 21, leaving an irreparable gap in their lives. Despite decades of drifting apart, Mags rekindles the bond between herself and the man when she announces that she recently saw Geoff lingering in the streets. The man ignores Mags, imploring her to seek help given the recent trauma. He continues his life: working at the library, writing his short story collection, taking in a refugee college student, Marco, whose building was destroyed in the attacks. Mags continues calling the man, swearing she's seen the ghosts of people long-dead in the streets; he ignores her until she plasters posters of the old trio around the city. He goes to visit her apartment when he learns that she was last seen two days before September 11. In the aftermath of his realization, he tries to move forward with his life. He publishes his short story collection and helps Marco recuperate his lost items. As he helps Marco and the other college students box up their items, he sees the ghosts of Geoff and Mags on the streets. He implores Marco to spend his youth more wisely than he and his friends did.