Payne stretches reality to the borders of absurdity in this satire on the politics of abortion in contemporary America. Ruth is a glue-sniffing addict who finds herself at the center of the national battle over abortion rights when a judge orders her to have an abortion or face felony charges for criminal endangerment of her fetus. Ruth becomes the cause celebre of both pro-life and pro-choice zealots, portrayed in satiric dueling symmetry.