Bernard Trammel is in his prime when a severe stroke leaves him completely paralyzed. He can think, see, hear, and smell, but no one is aware that he is conscious. His world is reduced to a solitary hospital room where he"s left increasingly alone, as his visitors dwindle and his loved ones give up on him. With sensitivity and pathos, Eikermann portrays Bernard"s heightened awareness of the vestiges of life available to him-the nurse who makes a habit of adjusting her pantyhose in his room, the private grief of other patients" relatives, the changing hues of light reflected from the ceiling as the sun rises and falls. But as Bernard"s contact with the outer world shrinks, his inner world expands and fills with memories and images, voices and visions, and he begins to examine his history, fate, and finally, the essence of existence and death.