New York, 1995

Brian Jonathan Malloy and Daniel Fallon are childhood friends, immigrants from Ireland, and completely different characters. Brian is a solitary writer who loves peace and quiet, while Daniel, a former baseball player and now coach of a small team, with three failed marriages, is a womanizer and enjoys drinking. However, through their differences, they complement each other, and of course, they are strongly connected by their common heritage and childhood experiences.

Nine years ago, when Brian published his first book, it was a huge publishing success and he became famous. However, as he started writing his second book, he lost Claire, his wife, and withdrew into himself, unable to write another book. The financial inactivity of so many years has caused him economic problems, so he pressures himself to complete the book he left unfinished. Everything is going well until the apartment next to his is rented by Manon Riverstone, a young stripper who makes a lot of noise. Brian is now convinced that he will not be able to finish his book and is thinking of giving up everything, when the unexpected happens on New Year's morning.