A Very Brief Summary

Two tortured souls, both victims of war in their own way, meet in an urban lot.

A Somewhat Longer Summary

The SOLDIER has come to a deserted urban lot where he waits in a makeshift foxhole
for an enemy that will never arrive. Soon a GARDENER enters, to care for the wizen old
tree there. Believing him to be the enemy, the SOLDIER takes the GARDENER prisoner.
After attempting to kill the GARDENER in a fit of rage, the SOLDIER gradually begins
to speak of his life. He has decided to die in order to free himself from his memories of
war. The GARDENER tries to save him.
But the GARDENER has secrets too. As he tries to help the younger man he finds
himself reliving his experience of war and the tragedy that befell his family. Gradually it
is revealed that the GARDENER is as deeply troubled as the SOLDIER.

Finally, overwhelmed with hopelessness and shame, both men decide to commit suicide
together. Only the timely intervention of the police and family members prevent them
from succeeding in their last desperate act.

In the end, as the SOLDIER is taken to the hospital and the GARDENER is returned to
his family, it is revealed that this is not the first time they have met. They seek each other
out constantly to perform this psychodrama, each apparently receiving some small,
unknowable amount of comfort from their deadly ritual.