One second from now the man reading a book will realize the woman carrying a lunch tray has no place to sit. Seventeen minutes later her soup and his sandwich are gone. They chat for another sixty seconds before she returns to work. A fortnight from now her phone will ring. During the ninety minute call she will learn that his ex-girlfriend wants to go back out with him. Six weeks from now the lady who works at the bank will be involved in a minor car accident. The following Friday she will run into the man employed by the bookstore at the Five O'Clock Club. Eyes meet across the crowded room. Seven sips of lager remain in his glass when she leaves the bar. Outside she is three minutes away from where she parked when he asks if she's too drunk to drive. Euphoria spreads through her as he pulls her close.

Several months slip away before she tells him she loves him. Summer comes and goes before he speaks to her again. Forty-eight hours go by before she decides to visit him at work. Her step falters as she sees him wave at another girl. Three weeks into the New Year she spots the two of them standing in line for a late night movie. At home she takes a shower, drinks half a bottle of wine and calls in sick to work. One year later a ham and cheese sandwich is her way of celebrating the past twelve months. Sitting in the deserted cafe her mind travels back to the day she met him. The chair across from him is the only one available. A lonely slice of baby Swiss hangs off the remaining half of his ham sandwich. She has a choice to make: talk to him or leave. The future spreads before her: what harm could come from lunching with a man who is reading a book?