When James, a pulp mystery novelist, borrows his editor's beach cottage during off season to write his great American novel (which he already has gotten an advance on) the sensuous trophy wife neighbor Julia helps him break his writer's block. As James resigns himself to writing yet another mystery, Julia's wealthy husband mysteriously dies exactly as in his story. No longer certain if he is dictating his story or if it is dictating him, James must confront the difference between lust, trust and love while grappling with whether he has the ability to write a happy ending