Miriam Gordon lives in a fog of grief while working in a downtown public library branch. When a burgeoning love-affair coincides with her receiving a series of oddly threatening letters, Miriam's sheltered existence is cracked open.
When an image-conscious wild child takes a strange new drug at a party, she undergoes a shocking transformation. Desperate to reverse the effects of the drug, she is horrified to discover that she has become the key to saving the human race.