Summaries

Synopsis

"Nothing's lost forever", the narrator refers to a beloved saying by The Worm. The movie opens with her, Lam, walking through the city street where she witnesses a man forget his phone on top of a trashcan. She picks it up and follows him to a restaurant. The scene resets, and this time it focus on the man, whose nickname is Worm, rifling through the trash bin where he pulls out a few wallets and chats on his cell phone. He explains to the person on the other end about how "nothing is lost forever", and how thieves tend to ditch wallets soon after stealing them. He advises someone that they should always take taxis and never to take the bus. He ends the call and this is where he forgets the phone and walks into the restaurant, then Lam picks it up.

She sits down at a neighboring table and eventually makes contact. She's weary of him, and asks for proof that it is indeed his phone. Worm recites the number, and refers to a sticker on the backside of it. He explains to Lam that he has the wallets, because he is in the Lost and Found business. He helps clients find lost things. She gives him his phone and gets up to leave, but he offers to buy her coffee and asks that she stay. She tells him, "No thanks, I have to search for something myself", which piques his curiosity. He offers to help. She then asks if he can help her find "Hope". He counters as to whether hope is a person, and she admits that it is. The Worm then tells her that he can help, he promises that he can get her at least one lead.

They go back to his office where she fills out an application to officially hire him and his team. She tells him that she is looking for a man named Ted, who is a Scottish sailor. That is all she tells The Worm, whereas the audience is treated to a montage of flashback scenes. Things that are learned are that Lam's mother died 8 years ago from cancer, and now she herself has Leukemia. She has many siblings, and her father is a wealthy shipping mogul. She applies to the position formally and defends her qualifications.

She was late to this specific interview, due to her doctor's visit. As she was walking up the stairs to her father's office, she ran into Ted who helped massage her leg due to it cramping. She insists that she is okay and how she has to go. Her shoe falls down the flight of stairs. Ted goes after it, while she runs up to the top floor. She explains her qualifications and does tell the board about her Leukemia. They give her the job, which is located on the docks near the ships themselves.

There she runs into Ted. He of course works for her father, as they did meet in her father's corporate building previously. They chat a bit, he shows her his living quarters on the ship and returns her shoe from that one day. She learns about his ancestors and how they immigrated to Scotland. He discusses St. Kilda, which is an "Island on the Edge of the World" and where he's been/is from. They talk a couple more times, before one day Lam gets to work and finds that the ship he works on has sailed. However, she learns that he wasn't on board. So there's a chance that he's still around town.

The flashback ends, and the audience is brought back to the present with Lam and Worm trying to track down Ted.Throughout Lam's search, there is a subplot with another of Worm's clients and his case. He begs Worm to continue searching for his wife, who has left him to fend for himself and their young children. Worm reveals to Lam that they've long located his wife, who has actually passed away. They fear telling him would put him in a bad emotional state, so they encourage him to work and care for the children while they "continue" the search. Worm's team of assistance is comprised of individuals who have physical disabilities. They repetitively tell Lam of their appreciation to Worm. His investigation firm is not lucrative, and is based on commissions. Therefore the work isn't always steady, but continues to keep them employed.

After going to hotels and asking around town, Lam and Worm are able to catch Ted before he gets into a taxi to go to Scotland. His grandfather was either ill or had just passed away and he needed to get home. He invites Lam to go with him, but she declines. He gives her a card with his info and tell her to look him up if she ever goes to Scotland and he will show her around town.Lam helps Worm finish up another case that involves a young girl who wants to find red-beak ducks whose presence she believes will make the flowers in front of her house grow. Her father planted the flower garden for her mother who is in the hospital and gravely ill. The team utilizes all kinds of tactics, which results in the garden blooming. Unfortunately, the mother dies before she is able to see the blooms.

Later at a movie theater, Lam faints and is taken to the hospital. Her family is there and it is revealed to Worm that she has leukemia. She doesn't say anything to him, and after her release, she heads straight to Scotland. She stays at the inn that Ted's family owns. He shows her the country side, they talk, they flirt, they bond. There is an annual day that is referenced a lot, and during that day, locals and tourists stand on top of a cliff. It's very symbolic, because the current changes from cold to warm. On that day, Lam and Ted are watching the water, she tells him that she misses her homeland and he states matter-of-factly that she is missing someone else as well. It is then that her feelings for Worm are spoken to the audience. Ted tells her to turn around, and several hundred feet away is Worm. He came into town yesterday and Ted helped guided him there. Lam kisses Ted on the cheek and goes to embrace Lam. And the camera pans over the water, mountain cliff, and sunset.

But that is not the end. The next scene is set in black and white and takes the audience back to the city and follows a funeral procession. Lam narrates and explains that she and Worm got married and had a baby. It's implied that she was not able to continue treatment in order to save the baby. The family is back at Worm's house and the baby is brought out. The doorbell rings, and it is Ted. He apologizes for missing the funeral. Worm and him politely chat, and then it is time to take a photo. Throughout these last scenes, Lam's ghost walks about and touches the face and shoulder of the two men. She stands beside them and observes them. Each played an important part in her life. The camera focuses on the group of people, and as it flashes the film ends.