In December of 1997, when Sung-hyun moves into the newly built house-on-stilts above the tidal sand, he names it Il Mare from the Italian for “the sea”—and via a letter in the mailbox, he learns that Eun-joo wants him to forward any mail that may arrive for her, since she has just moved out . . . in December of 1999.

Letters—eventually love letters—pass back and forth between Dr. Kate Foster and architect Alex Wyler who are two years apart in time.