Plot summary

In suburban Phoenix, 40-year-old Ruth Kiesling is not exactly "living the dream." She's a donut shop employee with anger issues. She's got no mother, a dead brother, and a father in hospice. Her few friends include her roommates: Meg, her game-for-anything confidante since junior high; Holly, a somewhat level-headed janitor and amateur ventriloquist; and her probation officer, Philip Crosby. Ruth's only creative outlet is playing her cello in the background of a series of popular YouTube videos featuring Errol, an egotistical ventriloquist. Errol lords over a community of loyal ventriloquists who proudly (and literally) wear their allegiance to their "art"; their dummies are strapped across their torsos like badass bandoleros. Ever the opportunist and desperate for money, Ruth finds herself in a position to "steal" the body of President James Buchanan. She does so, hoping to ransom him for a nice windfall -- but she's surprised to discover that no one seems particularly interested in getting him back. Plan B (and C and D) doesn't appear to be any more fruitful for the hapless duo, leading to dead ends involving a wealthy widow, a confused LGBT organization, and a hot-headed shipping foreman. The resolution of this increasingly dire situation will require previously untapped resourcefulness from Ruth; a demanding commitment from Crosby; her roommates Meg and Holly and a disconcerting insight into Errol's ventriloquist horde.

In suburban Phoenix, 40-year-old Ruth Kiesling is not exactly "living the dream." She's a donut shop employee with anger issues. She's got no mother, a dead brother, and a father in hospice. Her few friends include her roommates: Meg, her game-for-anything confidante since junior high; Holly, a somewhat level-headed janitor and amateur ventriloquist; and her probation officer, Philip Crosby. Ruth's only creative outlet is playing her cello in the background of a series of popular YouTube videos featuring Errol, an egotistical ventriloquist. Errol lords over a community of loyal ventriloquists who proudly (and literally) wear their allegiance to their "art"; their dummies are strapped across their torsos like badass bandoleros. Ever the opportunist and desperate for money, Ruth finds herself in a position to "steal" the body of President James Buchanan. She does so, hoping to ransom him for a nice windfall -- but she's surprised to discover that no one seems particularly interested in getting him back. Plan B (and C and D) doesn't appear to be any more fruitful for the hapless duo, leading to dead ends involving a wealthy widow, a confused LGBT organization, and a hot-headed shipping foreman. The resolution of this increasingly dire situation will require previously untapped resourcefulness from Ruth; a demanding commitment from Crosby; her roommates Meg and Holly and a disconcerting insight into Errol's ventriloquist horde.

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