A paroled murderer returns to the Staten Island home of his youth, where a poignant friendship blossoms with the restrained wife of his temperamental-- and jealous-- brother.

After a frantic suicide attempt, Veronika awakens inside a mysterious mental asylum. Under the supervision of an unorthodox psychiatrist who specializes in controversial treatment, Veronika learns that she has only weeks to live.

Hollywood beckons for recent film school grad Nick Chapman, who is out to capitalize on the momentum from his national award-winning student film. Studio executive Allen Habel seduces Nick with a dream deal to make his first feature, but once production gets rolling, corporate reality begins to intervene: Nick is unable to control a series of compromises to his high-minded vision, and it's all he can do to maintain his integrity in the midst of filmmaking chaos.

A joint U.S.-Soviet expedition is sent to Jupiter to learn what happened to the Discovery, and H.A.L.