At heart, the story is a sombre confessional, the life of the somewhat unsettled artist Gest, who is slowly, mournfully exposed during the 50 days it takes to complete a commissioned portrait. As she ticks off time, bleak day by bleak day, she is overwhelmed by an eerie sense of her former self, her revelations coating the present and future with a sinister slant. Gest's life is framed with an unnamed city and burned-out building she lives and works in; the cast of characters rotating about her whose names she deletes and replaces with descriptive titles. So there are daily meetings and conversations with muse and model Candy Girl and with psychologist Ordinary Man; a past as a porn star and drug addict; a son whose unspoken absence clearly haunts her.