Forbidden love and attempted suicide frame this lurid slice of erotic body horror, acting out like the sick child of Genet, Cronenberg, and De Palma. Lucille's about to turn eighteen and longs to study poetry, but her surgeon father insists the sciences are the way to go. When a failed suicide leaves her with hideous burns to her face, her father hires a sultry nurse to look after Lucille, but spending 24 hours together leads patient and nurse to discover passionate feelings for each other.