Mere. Protecteur. Innocence

Jamaican-Canadian emergency-room nurse Jude is a single mother whose primary focus in life is her 12-year-old son Ciel--when she isn't dealing with her incurable sickle-cell disease, which will probably be the cause of her eventual death. Like his mother, Ciel is a born caregiver, whose love of music, magic, and New-Age mysticism is largely a way to provide his mother love and protection, especially against her illness. Regardless, Jude relates to Ciel as if she isn't sick, such as planning to take him back to Jamaica someday so that he can have a better understanding of his heritage. And Ciel hopes that his mother's belief that the ones you love never go away is true. Into their lives comes Silence, an underground fighter. He and Jude meet when he comes to the hospital with an injury from fighting. Silence is dealing with his own issues, most notably taking over the Exodus boxing club after the death of his mentor and the club's owner, Horace. Silence learns that Exodus, which has a program for disadvantaged youth, is in deep financial trouble and will not survive in its current state. Silence is immediately attracted to Jude, who places walls around herself because of her situation. But they eventually embark on a relationship. The question becomes how their collective stories play out in light of the challenges they face.