Plot: Henry Roth: obsessive-compulsive, somewhat misanthropic, a writer of children's books. His illustrator and only friend, Rudy, dies after a fabulously successful collaboration on "Marty, the Beaver." Henry is under contract to produce another Marty book for Christmas sales. His publisher, Arthur Planck, assigns penniless, lovelorn illustrator Lucy Reilly to work with Henry. She's sought by her ex-boyfriend Jeremy, who dumped her two years ago but shows up apologetic, having dedicated his new book to her. She and Henry go to a house on the shore to work. Will love bloom amid the rocks, or is Henry a bump on Lucy's road to Jeremy? Rudy's voice, from the grave, gives Henry counsel.
Alternative Plot: When children's author Henry Roth (Billy Crudup) loses his longtime illustrator, his publisher sends him a new artist, Lucy (Mandy Moore). He is a tangle of neuroses and nastiness, and he does everything he can to alienate her, even though he must deliver his latest book in less than a month. Secretly Henry begins to fall in love with Lucy, and at the same time, her ex-boyfriend returns to try to win her back.
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