Pallas De Fiore, an eccentric and gutsy performing artist bang in the crosshairs of midlife, is stalked by a mean case of anorexia nervosa, which she has dubbed The Beast. This frustrating, frightening, and utterly illogical disease is a lethal opponent against which she has no insurance, so treatment seems unlikely. Fed up with watching Pallas's hijacked brain surrender her spirit to human enablers, societal stigma, and her own ambivalence, several of her friends opt to take action. Will the stubborn US healthcare system open its doors so she can regain her creative core and embark on a recovery adventure?