Arrested for the suspicious death of his mother, "Bernard Novak" explains himself, in court and in prison: Spending the night by chance in a seedy hotel near a quiet cemetery, he hears the laughter and moans of a couple having sex in a nearby room. Unexpectedly excited by the event, he watches as they leave… and falls in love with the beautiful woman, whom he immediately names M (for Midnight). He recalls that he has seen the man before: Joko, a minor functionary in the government. But why her? And why apparently in secret at an unknown hotel? Obsessed with her, he tries to uncover her secrets. He arranges to "bump into her" at the dime store where she works, and she introduces herself, amazingly, as M! He continues unobtrusively stalking her, expanding their interaction until finally she writes her Skype handle on a newspaper he buys. The long talk begins, stretched over weeks of careful online conversation, gradually winning her trust at a distance, only to have his hopes shattered by his old, sick mother, who constantly claims new illnesses to worry herself and him about. Their budding relationship shrivels and in despair he reaches out to M once again, in truth. And M comes to his home for dinner…