Nancy Larsen is suffocating. She’s desperate to express what this world of hurt feels like. She was once the star of math and science club, on her way to becoming valedictorian of her class. Her father, Rex—a chemical engineer for Texas Oil and Plastics—was her biggest fan. But then a black hole opened up and took it all away: Nancy’s mother died. All motivation dissolved, Nancy’s grades followed suit, and this once model student is now failing out of school. She spends her days writing and drawing and making prints in the garage, but every attempt to exorcise the pain falls short. Cold, analytical Rex calls it all a waste—he’s more interested in pills than his daughter these days, anyhow—so the pain just builds. She’ll turn to sex, drugs, religion… but in the end it’s a random act of vandalism from her childhood—and a chance meeting with its felonious author that helps Nancy find herself.