Murphy thought a short trip to the Pocono Mountains would be the perfect remedy for six months of nonstop work. What he found instead was a deteriorated hotel outside Philadelphia, a world of quiet desperation, and an encounter that would change his perspective on life.

Impatience had always marked Murphy's choices, leading him into trouble more often than peace. Booking the cheapest hotel without a second thought seemed like another passing mistake, until he met Ruth. Graceful, dignified, and profoundly out of place in her surroundings, Ruth was the desk clerk who greeted him with warmth amid decay. What began as a simple check-in became a doorway into a story of love, loss, survival, and enduring faith.

Through Ruth's memories of her late husband Mitch and her struggle to rebuild life after tragedy, Murphy confronts his own restless nature and the deeper meaning of compassion. Her resilience in the face of grief reveals to him the weight of patience, empathy, and divine purpose.

Set against the backdrop of a crumbling hotel and an unplanned five-day retreat, 'Ruth (Mitleid)' explores how unexpected encounters can reshape a life. It is a story of grief carried with grace, of strangers bound by shared humanity, and of the quiet ways God teaches patience and compassion through the lives we cross when we least expect it.