In the Middle of Nowhere

Early one September morning, in an isolated farmhouse in the middle of rural Nebraska, Rebecca Pender peeks out her bedroom window and sees a vision of the end of the world. The next day, she and her husband, Lucas, stand transfixed as they witness the collapse of the World Trade Center. Insidiously, the trauma of 9/11 unlocks within Rebecca's psyche a Pandora's box of repressed fears. She loses weight, obsessively sanitizes the house, claims the water is tainted, even prowls gun shops and army surplus stores. She fails to keep appointments with her psychologist, preferring to hide out in movie theatres or drive isolated back roads. Though Lucas does not fully embrace Rebecca's deepening paranoia, he can't envision life without her. He sells his business, helps Rebecca build an underground shelter and stockpiles food supplies and weapons. They sever all relationships with family, clergy and friends. But while Rebecca thrives on the energy of their collaboration, Lucas begins to decline—a voracious cancer has gripped his life. At last, Lucas takes his place in their front yard, flashlight in one hand, shotgun in the other, scanning the skies in search of the Armageddon that must surely be coming. In the Middle of Nowhere examines how fear poisons the soul like a virus, ravaging all who come in contact with it.