Carol White is an affluent Los Angeles housewife whose pristine, doll-like environment turns against her in the form of an inexplicable illness. What begins as sudden allergic reactions to everyday chemicals, fragrances and fumes turns increasingly violent, transforming the laminated safety of Carol's existence into a terror of everyday life. When she is diagnosed with an immunity disorder called "Twentieth Century Illness" and sets off to New Mexico in search of treatment, Carol's journey turns inward. And, in the crisis of identity that results, the film reveals the way in which disease infects our basic sense of who we are.