Susan Blanc—loner, insomniac, and LA-based professor of psychology—meets Nick, a blogger, at a nightclub she discovers on a sleepless night. Nick seems to be “consumed by something, someone, or himself" and, upon their second meeting, takes her to his apartment. While browsing through Nick’s books, Susan comes across a worn notebook with a light blue cover. Nick explains that it’s a journal he found on a bus and that something about it compelled him to keep it and attempt to return it to its owner—a graphic novelist named Andrew. Armed only with this information, Susan persuades Nick to post excerpts of the journal on his blog, feeling that Andrew's work will resonate with his readers, thereby initiating a larger search for the author. As they read and write, search and explore, Nick and Susan's stories melt with the artist's story, triggering a maelstrom of passion, sex, lies, and self-discovery that spans years.