Iris Fitzgerald struggles to make it day to day after she is raped and stabbed while out on an early morning run. Her story is told through her relationships, not only with her new, scared self, but also with her overbearing mother, her best friend, her rescuer and her antagonistic roommate. She has just moved to a strange city and still has not found a job. So, she has the overwhelming stress of the attack to contend with and the added pressure of running quickly out of money in the expensive city of San Francisco. She uses her painkillers as an escape from her stab wound as well as her emotional pain. Claiming Iris is about self-preservation, relationships, addiction and continuing on with life.