Teenager Jones (Elijah Wood) has opted not to go to college and is instead renting a room in a boarding house to work on his writing skills. Soon, Jones finds himself dividing his time between two women: a young actress named Lisa (Mandy Moore) and a photographer named Jane (Franka Potente). After Jane's ex-boyfriend arrives to help her recover from a car accident, Jones begins to understand just how much he cares for her.