The Bitter Ash

Des works at a boring job and his girlfriend Julie is pressuring him to get married by claiming to be pregnant so that she will not have to work Laurie is living a life of quiet desperation with her husband Colin an aspiring writer who refuses to look for a job Des meets Laurie while visiting a workmate who is dying of leukemia While they go for a drive Laurie invites Des to a rent party at their house After this Vancouver counterculture party Colin finds Des and Laurie in bed together