On Christmas Eve, 1999, DAPHNE volunteers at the local homeless shelter. It's a small town, and she runs into two people at the shelter that she used to know. Daphne's parents are out of town for the holidays, visiting her brother. Her brother is married and has children. Daphne is single and rarely dates.

One of the people Daphne meets at the shelter is MITCH, a former student. When Mitch was in Daphne's middle school journalism class, a few years before, he was a behavior problem. Now, he's a lazy, somewhat empty-headed philosopher who is putting in time at the homeless shelter in order to satisfy a court ordered community service sentence. He's crude and opinionated, and they carry on a running argument as they work together in the kitchen preparing dinner. Mitch's straightforward manner provides a contrast to Daphne's naiveté.

Daphne also encounters STU. They were in high school together. Now, a restraining order gives him no access to his children, his wife, or his home. He works at the hospital and spends his evenings either in his car or in the homeless shelter. In Act One, Stu tries to convince Daphne that he's still a good guy - perfectly normal. It's an apology for his status as a homeless person, and it works. He shows her some of his drawings and explains the messages of vacancy that speak from his art. She sympathizes. In fact, she trusts Stu so much that she is willing to join him for a drink. This sequence ends badly, with Stu getting hit by a bartender and arrested. This incident increases Daphne's guilt and sympathy - and she makes a date with him for New Year's Eve.

Act Two takes place at the shelter, on New Year's Eve, 1999. After dinner at the shelter, Daphne and Stu plan to go to a party where they will meet old friends from high school. HAROLD, the director of the shelter, thinks Daphne is making a mistake. Reluctantly, Harold gives Daphne and Stu permission to be at the shelter in the early part of the evening and then leave together later, in order to go to the party. He justifies bending the rules because of the special nature of the holiday.

Ultimately, Daphne is the one who is hurt. Stu bolts without her, trying desperately to be with his wife and children this night. Daphne, freshly dumped, turns to Mitch for comfort. The bad news is: Mitch is a warped human being. The good news is, he's there.