In Lillian David Williams has created a compelling, yet austere, domestic drama from the life of one very ordinary, yet extraordinary, woman. Lillian Folley (who plays herself) is an African-American woman in Richmond, Virginia who has raised two generations of foster children in addition to her own child and grandchild, and who also cares for elderly invalids in her home. As Lillian shepherds her children and her charges, her household has the lowlit hush of routine. Yet into the day-to-dayness is built a constant suspense based on the volatility of life itself: Will a child's birthday party pan out or explode into a heartbreaking scene? When the doorbell rings, will it be friend, landlord, social worker, or slimy real-estate agent? Will death come in the night? For each foster child, the past threatens pain, yet it is Lillian's own granddaughter who has the darkest fears, the most need of succor, and this kind of paradox makes Lillian a drama of impressive proportion. Lillian herself is salt-of-the-earth (no sugar); her life is characterized by honesty: love without sentiment, trust without hope, a clear-eyed vision of the world into which she must ultimately send the children, and always too soon.