An elderly woman named Helena collapses on a city street, and gives a sealed letter she has carried with her for years to her friend for safe-keeping. Helena dies from pneumonia and is declared “unknown” when she arrives at the morgue. Aspiring writer Sonya Kirk, who works there, takes the letter from Helena’s personal belongings, and plans to use it as inspiration for a novel. The contents of the letter are slowly revealed, and Sonya begins investigating the details of Helena’s life. Elsewhere, introverted Henry Petosa dreams of traveling the world and escaping the chaotic city. Meanwhile, Henry’s twin brother, Freddy Ace, from whom he was separated at birth, works as a driver for a group of gangsters. Freddy goes to an Italian restaurant called the Villa Capri with fellow driver Richie Nunn, where, behind his boss’s back, they threaten owner, Eddie Gutierrez, to give them protection money. Afterward, Freddy gets into a fistfight with Richie Nunn. Henry is visited by his pretty neighbor, Rosie Rivers, who barges into his apartment and forces him to watch her infant son. Rosie, a prostitute, leaves for an hour to meet a client. Elsewhere, Freddy returns home to his wife, Sharon Ace, and their twin daughters. He makes love to his wife and celebrates his promotion to be Mr. Paris‘ personal driver. Rosie returns to Henry’s house and kisses him in gratitude. Sometime later, Henry goes to his job at Petosa & Son Garage, where he works as a mechanic for his father, Pete Petosa. His father wants to sell the garage and retire, and offers to give Henry money to travel. Freddy Ace begins driving Mr. Paris around town. Paris warns him against secretly conducting illegal business with Richie Nunn, and asks Freddy if it is true he grew up in an orphanage. Freddy confirms the information, but offers no further details. Russell Franks invites Henry to dinner with him and his sister, Beverly Franks. However, because of an awkward date with Beverly, during which they made love, Henry is reluctant to see her again. When he repeatedly telephones her and hangs up when she answers, Beverly suspects it is Henry calling. In time, Rosie returns to visit Henry, and surprises him by performing a sexual act on him. Afterward, Henry asks about her occupation as a prostitute, and encourages Rosie to leave Red, her pimp boyfriend, promising to take care of her. Shortly after, Red arrives and slaps Rosie in the face. Henry comes to her defense, and during their fistfight, he accidentally pushes Red down a flight of stairs. Worried that Red will retaliate, Rosie flees with her crying child. Meanwhile, Sonya Kirk learns that a man named Emmanuel sent the letter to Helena, and that he set up a “blind trust” account with an attorney named Jerome Hamner. Sonya pretends to be Helena’s biographer, and seeks a meeting with Jerome, but is told by his daughter, Judith Hamner, that her busy father has no time to meet with her. However, when Sonya possesses the secret codeword, “equinox,” to access the account, she is granted a meeting with Jerome. Sonya asks for his help in assembling Helena’s life story. Together, they determine that Emanuel and Helena were in love, but after she became pregnant with twins, Helena discovered that Emanuel already had a wife and children in Europe. Helena ended her relationship with Emanuel and gave the twins up for adoption, never knowing that Emanuel had left a $200,000 trust for her and the boys. Although Emanuel included the information to Helena in a letter, she never opened it. Soon after, Emmanuel died in a racecar accident. Sonya Kirk is curious what became of the sons, and agrees to track them down. Judith Hamner offers her a share of the retainer’s fee her father’s firm will receive when the trust is legally distributed. Meanwhile, Henry meets Russell and Beverly Franks for dinner at the Villa Capri. Russell is infatuated with waitress Anna Gutierrez, the owner’s daughter, and leaves his table to talk to her. While he is gone, Beverly asks Henry why he never called her after they slept together. Henry shares his confused feelings, and Beverly wonders if he is schizophrenic. Richie Nunn comes into the restaurant to threaten owner Eddie Gutierrez for money, and Russell witnesses the harassment. Richie Nunn sees Henry at a table and mistakes him for Freddy Ace. He shouts at the confused young man through the window, convinced that Freddy is conducting business without him. After dinner, Henry escorts Beverly home and frantically tries to make love to her. Beverly chastises him, demanding he slow down, and invites him over for dinner the following night. Elsewhere, Freddy kills Richie Nunn when he learns he was doing business behind Mr. Paris’s back. Henry returns home to see Rosie Rivers’ dead body being taken away on a gurney. Sonya Kirk researches adoption records and learns that one of Helena’s sons is named Henry Petosa. Meanwhile, Beverly cooks dinner for Henry, and he invites her to travel the world with him on the money he receives from the sale of his father’s business. Sometime later, Russell Franks shows Henry a gun, and tells him he plans to protect Anna, the waitress at the Villa Capri, from the gangsters harassing her and her father. Freddy is unhappy working for Mr. Paris. Sonya Kirk pretends to be writing a story about a garage owner and asks Pete Petosa if she can interview him. She learns that Pete never told his son, Henry, that he was adopted. Sometime later, Henry gives Beverly a necklace, and she professes her love. However, she is reluctant to go away with him. Henry meets Russell Franks at the Villa Capri, and tells him he loves his sister, Beverly, and is taking her away from the city. Meanwhile, Freddy Ace and a gangster named Virgil arrive at the Villa Capri, and Freddy notes that it is the night of the Autumnal equinox. In Eddie Gutierrez’s office, Anna tries to protect her father from Freddy’s bullying. When Virgil enters the dining room, Russell suspects he is a gangster, and forces Henry to give him his gun. Russell points the gun at Virgil, and a fistfight ensues. Henry joins in and also takes a beating from Virgil. Freddy sees the commotion from the other room, but continues his business. During the scuffle, Anna enters and shoots Virgil. Outside, Sonya Kirk walks toward the Villa Capri and hears the gunshot. Meanwhile, Freddy enters the dining room, and Anna points her gun at him. As Freddy hides behind a wall, he comes face to face with his twin brother, Henry. The two men stare at each other in surprise, as Anna shoots Freddy. She screams in horror at what she has done, and gives the gun to her father. Henry follows the injured Freddy into the alleyway, and watches him die. Henry runs to the garage, takes some money and leaves a note for his father. He drives to Beverly’s home and sounds the horn, shouting to her from the street. He insists they leave immediately, but Beverly begs him to come inside and talk to her. Henry shouts his love for her before driving away. Sometime later, Sonya Kirk tells Beverly about Freddy Ace’s death, and explains that he was Henry’s brother. Beverly worries that Henry will never return and weeps that she missed her chance to be with him. Elsewhere, Henry arrives at a diner in the desert. He sees a woman with twin sons, and becomes emotionally distraught. Beverly waits for Henry’s telephone call as he stands on the edge of a canyon.