Barranquitas, Venezuela is real. Nearly half of its population has inherited a malicious, mutated gene that causes a deadly neurological disease. Marina Valdesa, age 36, lies dying in a Casa Hogar Amor y Fe, or House of Love and Hope. Her nine children will be orphaned and may inherit the same fate as their mother. Daniel, a 39-year-old nursing home resident outside Chicago shares Marina"s deadly diagnosis as researchers in academia and industry attempt relentlessly to discover a cure. Their mutual plight is one of mystery, devastation, hope and soul searching. The quality of their lives gets microscoped just like their diminishing brain cells. Marina"s 18-year-old daughter Tula, escapes her homeland and accompanies an American volunteer to Chicago to participate in a clinical trial at a leading University Hospital. As Tula is introduced to the latest pharmaceutical attempts and research studies to eradicate the loss of our minds and bodily functions we learn through other characters...