Though a childhood bout with polio left him dependent on an iron lung, Mark O'Brien (John Hawkes) asserts a vocation as a poet and journalist. A writing mission handling the piques the curiosity of Mark and sex, and he makes the decision to investigate the possibility of experiencing sex himself. After his overtures toward a care giver frighten her away, he novels an appointment with sex surrogate Cheryl Green (Helen Hunt) to reduce his virginity.