What happened to Owen Maloney in Chicago during the summer of 1978? That's what his wife May wants to know after Owen runs into an old friend on their vacation. He never talked about Chicago, and she never asked, even though when they met at the beginning of their sophomore year of college, he'd just come in the city in despair. What has he been keeping from her so long? For Owen, that summer working in a bar off Rush Street changed everything. He learned who he was. He learned what he wanted. And he learned how to love. Now he has to tell May why. "Once in Chicago" is a love origin story based on the author's experience working at a famous bar in downtown Chicago during the summer of his freshman year of college. The protagonist leaves for summer break in love with one girl and returns to college to find his true love...all because of two women who taught him the difference during one summer in a bar in Chicago.