The once clean and healthy city of Toronto becomes the pariah of the western world when a deadly chain of infection lands in the city. Panic spreads as the number of SARS cases increases as there are no effective treatments.

Jaye Tyler, a recent Brown University graduate with a philosophy degree, holds a dead-end job as a sales clerk at a Niagara Falls gift shop. Jaye is the reluctant participant in conversations with various animal figurines — a wax lion, brass monkey, stuffed bear, and mounted fish, among others — which direct her via oblique instructions to help people in need.