Winner of the 2002 Southern Playwright's Competition

Eileen Clavor wonders if she'll ever escape her parent's dreary Kentucky home, along with the afflictive memories and big wallpaper roses that change in number each time she counts them. She struggles to remain supportive of her uncle, Gaynor, who has been accused of strangling a lady in a motel room. His arrest has taken a heavy toll on Eileen’s mama, causing her to wander off in thunderstorms and set up house at the Greyhound bus station. Eileen also struggles to establish a relationship with her drunken father, Leonard, who shot the family dog because he no longer barked. Leonard does not share the family's love for Gaynor, wanting nothing more than to see him fry in the electric chair. Fearing she is the only sane member of the family, Eileen sets out to trace the Clavor origins. Her disinclined parents, however, inform her that the Cleavors have been in Kentucky since creation and deny the existence of anything outside its borders. Eileen wants to see for herself, but family secrets could keep her there forever.