The Guardian

On Christmas Eve, 1998, forty days after her husband Jim’s death from a brain tumor, 25-year-old Julie Barenson is grieving alone in her Swansboro, North Carolina, home. A young man delivers a large box containing a Great Dane puppy and a letter from her deceased husband. In the letter, Jim explains he arranged for the puppy to keep her from being alone and encourages her to find happiness again, promising to be her "guardian angel." Moved to tears, Julie names the puppy Singer.

Four years later, 29-year-old Julie has begun to heal, largely thanks to Singer, who is now a massive and unusually intelligent dog. She has recently started dating again after several disastrous dating experiences. Her latest date with Richard Franklin, a handsome engineering consultant, seems promising. Singer, however, is jealous and exhibits protective behavior toward Julie’s dates. When her Jeep breaks down, she takes it to be repaired by Mike Harris, her best friend and Jim’s childhood best friend.

Mike, a talented mechanic who co-owns the local garage with his brother Henry, is secretly in love with Julie. He is dejected when he learns about her date with Richard. Richard’s pursuit intensifies when he visits the hair salon where Julie works. He asks Julie for a second date, prompting her to cancel her dinner plans with friends. Later, Mike and Henry witness Richard kissing Julie outside the salon.

On their second date, Richard shares details of his past, including a difficult childhood and a failed marriage to a woman named Jessica. Julie feels a kinship with him due to their shared experiences of loss. They later join Mike, Henry, and Emma at a local bar, the Sailing Clipper, where a tense interaction solidifies Mike’s dislike for Richard. Richard’s courtship becomes more intense; he gives Julie an expensive, heart-shaped locket and takes her on an extravagant weekend date involving a limousine and a hot-air balloon ride. Despite the romance, Julie realizes she does not have deep feelings for him. She feels manipulated and uneasy when Richard becomes upset that she did not wear the locket to work.

A foreman from the bridge project gives Mike an ominous warning about Richard. Soon after, Julie’s kitchen faucet explodes, and she calls Mike for help. They share a comfortable evening, and the easy familiarity of their time together causes Julie to see Mike in a romantic light for the first time. The next day, she asks him on a date. The night before their date, Richard appears at her door. When he learns she is seeing Mike again, he becomes angry and physically prevents her from closing the door, causing Singer to attack and bite his hand. Richard then breaks down, claiming his mother has just died. A sympathetic Julie lets him inside, and he falls asleep on her couch. Julie and Mike’s first date is awkward but sweet, and their second date ends with their first kiss. Their relationship quickly deepens, and they become lovers. Julie visits Jim’s grave and, reflecting on his letter, feels he would be happy for her, allowing her to fully embrace her feelings for Mike.

Julie begins receiving a series of silent, untraceable phone calls that terrify her. One day, her answering machine is filled with twenty silent messages. While boating with Mike, Henry, and Emma, she sees a figure on a distant dune watching her with binoculars; she is certain it is Richard, but he vanishes before anyone else sees him. That evening, a message on her answering machine contains a whispered recording of the "American Pie" chorus, confirming Richard had been spying on them during their date.

Terrified, Julie goes with Mike to his gig at the Clipper, where Richard appears. Julie confronts him publicly, accusing him of stalking her, but he denies everything. When Mike sees Richard smirk at him, he loses control and attacks him. Police officers Pete Gandy and Jennifer Romanello arrive and arrest Mike for assault. Mike soon learns Richard’s attorney is filing for a temporary restraining order and threatening a civil suit, claiming Mike gave Richard a concussion.

Richard plants a false message at the garage, luring Mike away to a fake meeting. While Mike is gone, Julie is ambushed in the woods by Richard, who calls her "Jessica" and professes his love. Julie escapes and later discovers the locket on her desk with a shorter chain and photos of Richard inside, proving he has been in her home. Officers Gandy and Romanello investigate the break-in. Having been manipulated by Richard, Gandy reveals that Richard spent the night at Julie's. The claim prompts a hurt and angry reaction from Mike, who leaves.

Officer Jennifer Romanello, suspicious of Richard, discovers "Richard Franklin" is an assumed identity for Robert Bonham, and that the real Richard Franklin is a missing person. Bonham is wanted for questioning in the disappearance of his wife, Jessica, and is a suspect in the deaths of both his parents. The police also learn Bonham beat Andrea Radley into a coma and find his rented house, which contains a darkroom filled with hundreds of surveillance photos of Julie.

Fearing for their lives, Mike and Julie flee to Henry and Emma’s secluded beach house. Jennifer and Pete go to the beach house to warn them and to post Pete as a guard. Bonham, having altered his appearance and stolen a car, follows the police there. That night, Bonham poisons hamburger meat with rat poison and leaves it on the beach for Singer. Lured out of the house by the dog's distress, Mike is ambushed and shot by Bonham, who also knocks Pete unconscious. Bonham corners Julie on the beach, but Singer, in his final moments, launches a heroic attack. Bonham shoots and kills Singer. Just as Bonham grabs Julie again, Officer Romanello arrives and kills him in an exchange of gunfire.

Two months later, Mike, Pete, and Andrea have recovered from their injuries. Julie and Mike are living together in Julie’s house, healing from the trauma. They bury Singer in the backyard. Julie rereads Jim’s letter, understanding that he and Singer acted as her "guardian angels."