Having discovered that she is pregnant, Long Island homemaker Natalie Ravenna panics and leaves home to see if she might just possibly make something different out of herself--if she can manage to unshackle her grocery list worth of responsibilities that add up to a life with a husband she loves. In a motel room where Natalie stops to rest during the day, she sits motionless on the bed, and experiences the exuberance of complete freedom and the queasy feelings of new beginnings. Continuing her journey, she picks up young hitchhiker Killer, an attractive, brain-damaged football player. Through him, more disturbing questions occur to Natalie: How deeply are we wedded to chance meetings? And, are we responsible for the crimes that we witness?