The play opens with Rebecca Hoover trying to get her bearings and make sense of what has happened to her. Memories of the crash mingle with old bits of fables, puns and images that don’t seem to jibe.

         We are introduced to work-a-holic Dr. Petridis, whose fascination with this case may get her fired;  Pearl and Dwight Hoover, the frightened parents, far from  their Midwest home, who have never come to terms with their daughter’s sexuality; Chantal Murphy, a Jamaican nurse whose decency and common sense make up for what the others sometimes lack; and Emily Calabrini, a bookstore owner who wanted nothing more from life than to grow old, in peace and love with Rebecca.

         Through a series of lyrical internal monologues we see Rebecca slowly progressing from aphasia to a clearer understanding of who she is and what she wants.  These alternate with flashback memories of her years with Emily and scenes in the hospital room. There, Rebecca bonds with Dwight, a fellow store owner who finds her a better audience for his corny jokes than his wife, Pearl, whose discomfort and uneasiness grows.  Oblivious to the nature of her relationship with his daughter, he okays her efforts to help Rebecca communicate, as Emily brings in poetry, big band music and a specially-rigged laptop computer, all of which Rebecca gradually
responds to.

         When disaster ensues, it is the devotion and courage of these two women that gives hope that justice will prevail.