Carey and Paul are reclusive shoemakers. Fragile Carey polishes the shoes while overprotective Paul does the books. Their world unravels when Carey becomes smitten with Anna. Worried about his friend's lack of experience, Paul tells him to be wary, but Carey's heart has begun its romantic journey...

In the waning months of World War II, a man and his wife are mistakenly identified as Jews by their anti-Semitic Brooklyn neighbors. Suddenly the victims of religious and racial persecution, they find themselves aligned with a local Jewish immigrant in a struggle for dignity and survival.

Verlin is 9 years old and does not talk, nor does he even seem to hear. Henry, a child-like adult, befriends Verlin and pulls him from his shell. Verlin's mother mistrusts Henry, who she feels is dangerous.