In Depression-era New York, an impoverished painter has a chance encounter with an enigmatic, old-fashioned little girl in Central Park who inspires him and changes his destiny.

Winter of 1934, New York City. With his work lacking depth, struggling artist Eben Adams is in dire need of inspiration. However, in snow-covered Central Park, Manhattan, Eben has a chance encounter with his romantic, godsent muse: Jennie Appleton. Once, someone encouraged talented Eben to find new meaningful subjects to escape poverty. Now, this rendezvous with fate is beyond his expectations. Excited, Eben starts preparing a canvas to draw Jennie's portrait, the first and only thing he's ever been sure of in his life, and a beautiful, platonic relationship that defies time gradually blooms. But an unfathomable mystery lies behind Jennie's big, doleful eyes. Can love alter destiny? Will Eben complete his magnum opus?—Nick Riganas

In Depression-era New York, painter Eben Adams (Joseph Cotten) despairs at his lack of success. One cold winter evening in Central Park, he meets an enigmatic, old-fashioned little girl, Jennie Appleton (Jennifer Jones), who captures his fancy when she asks him to wait for her to grow up. Soon after, Eben sells a sketch of Jennie to kindly art dealer Miss Spinny (Ethel Barrymore) and, as he meets the oddly mutable Jennie in fleeting moments, begins to realize they share a special destiny.—FilmsNow

It's the winter of 1934 in New York City. Eben Adams is a struggling and penniless artist who would probably admit that he has no passion in his work. In befriending art gallery owners Mr. Matthews and Miss Spinney, Eben is told by Miss Spinney that she sees no love in his paintings, that statement despite seeing something in him as a person. It is shortly after meeting them that Eben then meets a preteen girl wearing old fashioned clothes in otherwise deserted Central Park, she named Jennie Appleton, who says among her parting words to him, "I wish you would wait for me to grow up so that we could always be together," after which she disappears as quickly as he ran into her. Intrigued by her in more ways than one, Eben, who usually does landscapes and still lifes, ends up sketching a portrait of Jennie from memory. Eben's artistic and thus financial fortunes seem then to change for the better, with Mr. Matthews and Miss Spinney seeing the difference in his work. Shortly thereafter running into Jennie again, Eben is amazed to see that Jennie has grown far beyond the short time since he last saw her. From this change and other things she says and does, Eben comes to realize that Jennie is literally from another time, their first meeting in 1910, with she coming in and out of his life. Jennie is subconsciously more aware of what is going on in the acceleration of her age so that she may eventually catch up to him in present day. As such, Eben begins to see her as a friend, a muse and hopefully one day a lover as she grows into young womanhood in short order in her acceleration. But never knowing when he will run into her, he eventually learns he will meet her in milestone moments of her life which will affect their destiny.—Huggo