When a young Jewish girl in Prohibition-era Brooklyn befriends a Black thirteen-year-old boy who claims he's dead, she thinks nothing of it and invites him and his father over for Sabbath dinner. Through the conversation between her father and the boy's father, the fates of their children are revealed.

In the far future, a female scientist must lead her team through time to uncover the explanation for a colony planet's sudden and complete demise, including that of her dead husband. Despite challenges made to her academic integrity and emotional wellbeing, she pursues both her mission and the shadow of her lifelove, hoping that one will lead to another. In a spaceship in the far future, a female scientist tries to understand the alien plague that wiped a whole colony planet, including her late husband and research partner. As she travels through the records of time, she also chases after the footsteps of her lifelove in hopes that they'll help solve her mystery and heal her grieving heart.