Following the tragic suicide of his fiancée Alex (Brigitte Bako), successful architect Jake Winters (David Duchovny) uncovers a secret red journal detailing her hidden romantic life. The entries reveal that despite her love for Jake, Alex entered into an intense, passionate affair with a blue-collar worker and shoe salesman named Tom (Billy Wirth). Torn between her commitment to Jake and her overwhelming physical desire for Tom, Alex's internal conflict and guilt ultimately lead to her tragic breakdown. Devastated, Jake places an ad in the newspaper under the pseudonym "Red Shoes" to collect personal entries from other women, seeking to understand the nature of secret desire and infidelity.