Amy and Lawrence, whose marriage is on the brink of collapse, invite Cissy to live with them. Gabriel, a friend of Lawrence's arrives, on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Amy's attempts to provoke an emotive reaction from those around her are ineffective. The breakdown in communication is half-resolved and the play ends with Cissy personifying Lawrence's idea of hope as ..". a rather plain but really very nice woman of indeterminate age sidling into a room dressed in a pink tutu ..."