chunk: Chicago architect Sam Baldwin loses his wife Maggie to cancer. He and his eight-year-old son Jonah start anew in Seattle, Washington, but Sam continues to grieve. A year and a half later, on Christmas Eve 1992, Jonahâwho wants his father to find a new wifeâcalls in to a radio talk show. Jonah persuades a reluctant Sam to go on the air to talk about how much he misses Maggie. Hundreds of women from around the country who hear the program and are touched by the story write to Sam. One of the listeners is Annie Reed, a Baltimore Sun reporter. She is engaged to amiable, suitable Walter but feels there is something missing from their cordial relationship, feeling no "magic". After watching the film An Affair to Remember, Annie impulsively writes a letter suggesting that Sam meet her on top of the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day. She does not intend to mail it, but her friend and editor Becky does it for her and agrees to send Annie to Seattle to "look into doing a story on