The daughter of a brilliant but mentally disturbed mathematician (recently deceased) tries to come to grips with her possible inheritance: his inanity. Complicating matter are one of her father's ex-students who wants to search through his paper and her estranged sister who shows up to help settle his affair.

25 - year - old Catherine is difficult to spend the most bitter period of life , in addition to their work , but also unavoidably take care of their gravely ill father, Robert . Although Robert is a highly respected mathematician, but suffering from the disease afflicted him in the twilight years of life can not take care of themselves . After the father died , Catherine was thrown into a strange corner seclusion are usually reluctant to participate in social activities . Father of student Hal going to find mathematical notes left behind before the funeral , Catherine, he exploded . Catherine 's sister Claire wants to sell his father's houses, the sister returned to New York to live with her , because she believed that his sister may have inherited some of the symptoms of the father , must always be concerned about her movements . Catherine certainly do not want to leave the increasingly complex relationship between her and Hal . Hal took Catherine to the key to open the drawer of Robert , a staggering achievement of mathematical proofs , delighted Hal proposed to the name of Robert printing publishing the truth of the matter allows Claire and Hal are stunned , the real The author was actually Catherine!