Cancer can be more than just "shock" and "struggle." Martha Robin has used her serious illness as an opportunity to take a closer look. She tells her friend Masim how she is gradually being brought to her knees by arbitrariness and overwhelming demands. After her diagnosis, she struggles through the stages her body needs to recover, gasping for breath and short of breath. She soon realizes when she needs to let go and when she needs to be proactive to receive the right treatment. Returning to her old life after intensive therapy, Martha tries to understand what happened. By listening to herself and moving through the world with an open mind, she gradually comes to understand how arbitrariness and indifference arise. Fearlessly, she sets out to ask some of her companions directly.