A complex tale of love and grief, that challenges stereotypes of family, gender, and sex. The irony of seeing her own son become a cadaver donor speaks to the deepest fears of those professionals who make similar demands on the bereaved every day. Manuela finds a "family" among her tenderly comic, down-and-out friends. "We are all of us a bit lesbo," she says with a shrug, describing what she could not tell her dead boy: that she took his father back to her bed after he came home with breasts.

"A Streetcar Named Desire" is the play within the play in which Huma Roja is acting; when a member of the cast is too stoned to perform, Manuela successfully steps into the role. In becoming someone else, she becomes more herself. Some of the people initially seem selfish and cruel; yet, none are wholly good or bad.

For example, Rosa’s mother seems unreasonably angry, but soon we learn that her husband is suffering from dementia and needs constant attention; she wants Rosa nearby and healthy, not only to lighten her burden, but especially to give meaning to the future. Similarly, Nina is overwhelmed to learn of the existence of Esteban just as s/he must learn of his death; Manuela makes that mistake only once and brings Rosa’s baby to him. At the end, it appears the bond that Rosa’s mother establishes with her grandson and Manuela may soften without eliminating their shared pain of loss.