The women in WHEN THE MESSENGER IS HOT are fierce and kind, damaged and optimistic. They are recovering from loss or addiction or betrayal, they are on the fringes of reality or sanity or a "conventional" life. From a woman who decides to live on the patio rooftop of her friend"s apartment building, to the bestselling memoir writer who finds her identity overtaken by the actress cast in the movie version, to the daughter convinced her dead mother is in fact simply stuck at a North Dakota bus depot, their experiences of loss and love are both uniquely theirs and universal. With disarming humor, honesty, and playfulness, Elizabeth Crane gleefully and memorably explores the absurdities and possibilities of modern life.