An initially unwanted infestation fosters understanding between a woman and the cockroaches in her house.

When a sixty-nine-year old high school teacher's elm tree is infested with insects, the man does everything he can to save the tree, even going so low as to sabotage his neighbor.

Terrence and Ruth, a middle-aged couple, move house for a fresh start - but their new house is in disrepair. Ruth contends with sickness, unfulfillment, and her staling marriage while laboriously cleaning it.