Henry Rawitscher, an erudite 34 year-old Philosophy student at the University of Washington. Once a promising young doctoral candidate, Henry has finally worked himself into a corner. His attempt to complete a vast and complex dissertation-literally about the meaning of life-is closing in on its first decade, with no end in sight. Meanwhile, his overly analytical "relationship" with a younger Associate Professor of Art History, Gina, seems to be going nowhere. At a birthday party for his friend Paul, Henry explains his ethical stance on free love, only to have Gina call him on his self-serving "commitment to non-commitment" She tells him his fate will catch up to him, and leaves him, drunk and alone. Arriving home that night Henry meets his fate in the form of a fantastical woman, 7 1/2 months pregnant who appears and disappears over the next few days, leaving Henry unsure if she really exists.