Two women meet in college, fall in love, and break up, leaving behind a wake of unresolved feelings of fear, anger, and guilt. Ten years later, when they are both professors, they meet again at an Atlanta university. While trying to solve the riddle of a student's mysterious suicide, they confront misogyny, contentious academic politics, and their own complicated pasts.

Dealing with many of the challenges facing America in the late 1970s and 80s, Second Chances anticipates today's social and political struggles while telling a story of forgiveness and second chance love.