In a desolate, tired, somewhat dilapidated city four stories unfold as four very different people struggle to regain their footing in a landscape that cares very little for them. The isolation and confusion of a modern society pushes a young "white trash" girl to reflect and act on her desires, which are too complex for her short life experience. A young black woman fascinated with photography and the search for meaning in her return to Cleveland discovers the sometimes beautiful, sometimes wretched truth of human nature. Cathy, a grown woman longing for a past and a home and her freedom from healing and helping white people, decides to claim what is hers. A single mother struggles to raise her son while turning to her dreams and her desire for a young boy she meets in a hospital to help her transcend the harsh realities of modern life.