Oh Jiwoong, one of the main characters, is in a PhD program in New York to become a professor. One day, he hears a shocking story from his wife Kang Mihye. It was that she was raped by strangers while she was jogging at Central Park. Having always been busy with his study, Oh only expressed his anger, without being able to comfort her. The next day, he found his wife gone when he got back home after studying. He tried to find her, which led him to realize that he knew nothing about her. Then he searched her desk to find some clues and spotted a travel guide book titled I Love New York festooned with colorful Post-it notes. While flipping through the book, he noticed that the letter P was on every marked page. For instance, there were sentences like these: “Think Coffee, 248 Mercer Street, New York. The place we first met. P.” “Inakaya. 231 West 40th Street. It was good to have sashimi after a long time. Thanks, P”

What’s worse was that his parents-in-law were supposed to be in New York to visit them in three days. Oh was agitated as he had been receiving a sort of scholarship from his mother-in-law after persuading his wife to go to New York. While thinking about the Ps that he had encountered in the book, he had a sense of deja vu and managed to recall the name of the church “Pathfinder” where his wife attended regularly. Then he got hold of Lee Hee Kwang, the church’s youth ministry. Lee had no idea where his wife was, but he suggested meeting Oh, saying that there was something he needed to know.

Lee immigrated to the States ten years ago and now was in his mid-forties. He had been in pain after losing his parents to a murder perpetrated by neighbors and subsequently his wife and children, and then decided to become a minister. He restored stability to his mind when he comprehended the meaning of the phrase “Pain is the condition of your existence” and dedicated himself to delivering God’s words to other people. Lee said to Oh that rumors had been circulating that his wife Kang Mihye and a man named Han Pyeonghwa in the youth group were in a relationship. Then he asked Oh if he knew Han Sujin. Upon hearing that name, Oh was bewildered because Han Sujin was his ex-girlfriend with whom he had parted long ago. Staring at Lee’s eyes through which he could not see anything, he realized that he was in caught in a vortex whose depth was unfathomable.

교수가 될 날을 꿈꾸며 뉴욕에서 박사 과정을 하고 있는 오지웅은 어느 날 아내 강미혜로부터 충격적인 이야기를 듣는다. 센트럴파크에서 조깅을 하다 정체 모를 남자들로부터 강간을 당했다는 것. 공부로 늘 시간이 빠듯했던 그는 아내를 제대로 위로해주지 못하고 분노만 한다. 다음 날 학교에서 돌아와 보니 아내는 사라지고 없다. 그는 행방을 수소문하려 하지만 문득 아내에 대해 아는 게 없단 걸 깨닫는다. 단서를 찾으러 아내의 책상에 갔다가 색색의 포스트잇이 잔뜩 붙어 있는 『아이 러브 뉴욕』이라는 가이드북에 눈길이 머문 그는 페이지를 펼치다 포스트잇에 계속 등장하는 P라는 알파벳을 발견한다. ‘Think Coffee. 248 Mercer Street, New York. 처음 만난 곳. P.’ ‘Inakaya. 231 West 40th Street. 오랜만에 회 먹으니 좋더라. Thanks, P.’
사흘 뒤면 처갓집 식구들이 뉴욕에 도착하는 상황. 부잣집 딸인 아내를 설득해 매달 ‘장모님 장학금’을 받고 있었던 오지웅은 다급해진다. 조금 전 알파벳 P가 드리운 기시감 때문인지 그는 아내의 유일한 바깥 활동이었던, Pathfinder(패스파인더)라는 교회의 이름을 겨우 떠올려내고 청년부 담당 이희광 목사와 연락이 닿는다. 목사는 지금 강미혜가 어딨는지는 모르지만, 그 전에 당신이 알아야 할 이야기가 있다며 만남을 제안한다.
사십대 중반의 이희광 목사는 미국에 온 지 십 년이 된 이민자로, 부모가 이웃사람에게서 살인을 당한 후 아내와 자식들까지 차례로 잃고 고통스러워하다가 신학의 길에 들어선 사람이다. 그는 ‘고통이야말로 네 존재의 이유다’라는 신의 뜻을 간파하고 마음의 안정을 얻었고, 그러한 신의 뜻을 사람들에게 전하는 ‘신의 배달부’를 자처한다. 목사는 얼마 전 뉴욕에 온 교회 청년부 한평화라는 남자와 강미혜가 특별한 관계라는 소문이 돌고 있다고 말한다. 그러면서 한수진을 아느냐고 묻는다. 오지웅은 오래전 헤어진 여자 친구의 이름이 그의 입에서 나오자 당황한다. 속을 들여다볼 수 없는 목사의 눈을 바라보며 그는 깊이를 알 수 없는 소용돌이에 휘말렸음을 느낀다.