Paul Brawley is gifted PhD candidate at Yale University. Paul has just moved into an apartment with his pragmatic girlfriend, Jen, and is struggling to complete his dissertation before embarking on a career in academia. There's just one snag: as Paul is unpacking his belongings, he discovers that something has been left behind. A seemingly inconsequential object, but one Paul feels is of great importance to his dissertation and, therefore, to his future: a battered, personally annotated hardcover copy of 'Little Dorrit' by Charles Dickens. He will have to retrieve it from his former roommate - the obstinate Nancy. As he becomes increasingly consumed with the retrieval of 'Little Dorrit', Paul's relationship and career unravel.