At the twilight of the 19th century, New Yorkers Herbert and Margaret Jaffe request the services of Michael Houtman, a renown photographer, for a family portrait with their daughter, Linda. As he sets up his equipment, Michael talks with Linda and she reveals that she fell on the ice a few months ago and was left paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. She expresses her hopes to continue with her dreams in spite of her condition and increasingly fragile health. However, this morning she feels better than she has in a long time, but is still not wanting to have her picture taken. He convinces her to let him take her picture, but this is no ordinary portrait and he is no ordinary photographer.