A riff on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel THE SCARLET LETTER. In Parks’ highly imaginative, idiosyncratic version, Hester bears a branded “A” on her chest, which, according to the law, must be visible at all times as punishment for her crime of being the mother of a son who steals food. When her son was sent to prison for this crime, she was given the choice of prison herself or remaining free while working at an unsavory profession, that of an abortionist. When there is an escaped convict on the loose, complications develop and the dream of seeing her son transforms into a desperate act of mercy.
