New York, late summer, 2000. A party in a spacious Manhattan apartment,
hosted by a wealthy young activist. Dozens of idealistic
twenty-somethings have impassioned conversations over takeout dumplings
and champagne. The evening shines with the heady optimism of a
progressive new millennium. A young man, Ben, meets a young woman,
Kate--and they begin to fall in love.
Kate lives with her head in the clouds, so at first Ben isn't that
concerned when she tells him about the recurring dream she's had since
childhood. In the dream, she's transported to the past, where she lives
a second life as Emilia, the mistress of a nobleman in Elizabethan
England. But for Kate, the dream becomes increasingly real, to the point
where it threatens to overwhelm her life. And soon she's waking from it
to find the world changed--pictures on her wall she doesn't recognize,
new buildings in the neighborhood that have sprung up overnight. As Kate
tries to make sense of what's happening, Ben worries the woman he's
fallen in love with is losing her grip on reality.
Both intoxicating and thought-provoking, The Heavens is a powerful
reminder of the consequences of our actions, a poignant testament to how
the people we love are destined to change, and a masterful exploration
of the power of dreams.
