Quid Pro Quo

Isaac Knott has been a paraplegic since he was eight years old, the result of a car accident that took his parents' lives. He has no illusions, but hopes one day to walk again. He is well-known by name by New York City's physically-disabled, as he is an on-air reporter/commentator for NPR who often tells stories related directly or indirectly to disabilities, his own or those of others. He is provided an anonymous tip of an able-bodied person going to a hospital requesting to have his legs amputated, a request which the hospital denied. The same anonymous source provides him a further tip that leads him to a subculture of able-bodied people who have a fixation on physical disabilities; the most extreme of those, called wannabes, want to be physically-disabled themselves, such as the man who requested that his legs be amputated. Isaac eventually meets the source, art conservator Fiona Ankany. In a quid pro quo, Fiona vows to tell Isaac what she knows about her friend who is in this subculture if he tells her about himself; Fiona eventually admits that she is a wannabe. Isaac and Fiona fall for each other; Isaac's emotional and physical attraction to her blossoming as he is still recovering from his most-recent girlfriend Raine breaking up with him; he still hopes to reconcile with her despite not being able to do anything about her reason for breaking it off with him. Now, directly or indirectly through Isaac's relationship with Fiona, he experiences a major positive change in his life. Because of this change, Fiona offers him a deal, accepting what he wants which will result in something he doesn't want. The balance between Isaac and Fiona's relationship and the deal could tip if what he suspects to be the truth behind her motivations in being a wannabe is indeed the truth.