In the spring of 1935, eight women come to meet at the New England country home of Fefu, to organize a performance for a fundraiser event. Some of the women are friends, others friends of friends, and still others more than friends. In the first part of the play in the living room, each of the women arrive: Cindy, Christina, Julia, Emma, Sue, Paula, and Cecilia.

 

In Part II, the action takes place in four different locations simultaneously: the lawn, the study, the bedroom, and the kitchen. On the lawn, Emma and Fefu debate the influence of sexual activity on a person’s entrance into heaven or condemnation into hell. Fefu tells Emma that she has been experiencing great and undefinable pain lately, represented by the disturbing visit of a diseased black cat who visits her in her kitchen. In the study, Cindy and Christina discuss the meaning of the phrase “to be swept off one’s feet,” and Christina expresses her confusion over Fefu -is she a risk taker and breaker of conventional norms, or is she just dishonest and dangerous? Cindy admits a strange dream she had. In the bedroom, Julia is wearing a white hospital gown and experiences a hallucination, in which she experiences terror and muses on the nature and consequences of her inability to walk. In the kitchen, Paula discusses with Sue the exact mathematical equation behind a love affair, deducting that the length of a love affair is seven years and three months. Cecilia enters, Sue exits to take a bowl of soup to Julia, and the temperature in the room changes. Cecilia and Paula once meant a great deal to one another, and it seems that Paula has been left with a broken heart.

 

In Part III, the women rehearse the speech for their fundraising event, fight over who should do the dishes, and discuss mental fragility. Fefu hallucinates Julia walking on her legs to the coffee table, holding the sugar bowl. Following this, Sue, Emma, Paula, and Julia all muse on their past experiences in academia as women. Fefu, spurred on and shaken up by her hallucination, asks Julia if she can walk. In a painful admission, she relates to Julia that her strength is mere presentation -she fears that her husband has left her and the need she has for him is too much to bear. Fefu challenges Julia to fight to walk, and after Christina interrupts, asks for her forgiveness. Fefu grabs her gun and goes to the lawn. A shot is heard, and Julia puts her hand to her forehead, drawing blood. Finally, Fefu enters the living room with a white rabbit. The final image of the play is of the seven women, surrounding Julia as the lights fade.