Thomas Spezia was certain of two things.

One day, he would die. One day, he would be Thomas Spezia, M.D. In his perfect plan, graduation.would precede his obituary. On that July morning, he braved the steps that announced the front doors of Greer Charity Hospital. One thought gripped his mind. In just two years, he would graduate. Of course he would.

One day passed. The plan was history. Clearly, there were potholes in the road to success. New strategies were needed.

There was his new “family,” composed of superiors, and people he could not comprehend. Christmas M. Rayburn, or “Nurse Rayburn to you, white boy,” was in charge—and how. Some supervision, thought Thomas…hanging on the phone, gabbing away like she did. Still, he couldn’t identify the reason for her attitude, her arrogance, or her secrecy. She left just a few minutes early each shift and no one seemed to care. Everyone seemed afraid to question her. Well, he wasn’t–and, he would.

Then there were the “frequent flyers,” those patients like Cletus “Fingers” LaRoux. That first day, and daily thereafter, Fingers demanded a taste of the day’s endangered substance. Ever vigilant, he admonished Thomas to monitor the narcotics supply, hourly if possible. “Now y’all runnin’ dangerously low on codeine…this fine hospital can’t function without it. Better check the other stuff while you’re at it. Morphine’s probably gone too.” Funny, a coiffed, over-tanned surgeon told him the same thing. Plastics, he said. I’m in plastics. Plastics are the future. Ever think about plastics? Look me up, Junk Freeman’s the name. Thomas forgot about Junk altogether until the Angel of Blonde appeared in the cafeteria. Cynthia Whirl was perfect, he thought–until she told him that she was engaged to a gifted surgeon. He’s in plastics, she said with a nod. They’re the future. The diamond-studded golden boy, Junk Freeman, M. D. was her fiancé. It was unbelievable.

On one day, one hour changed his life.

Thomas wasn’t expecting her. He was a medical student. She was the last patient on his list. Who was this gravely ill woman? Nothing in his medical training had prepared him for her request. One day, he met Marlena Day. For the rest of his life, she was unforgettable.