Zoe, a beautiful young dancer, performs in a rundown theatre wearing an abstract peacock costume. She is alone in the world and clings to the hope of making it as a professional. Keith, a slow, but well-meaning manager in his late forties, haunted by his love of the dancer, tries to get close to her by dangling airy promises of success in her face. Feeling decieved, Zoe wears deception like a shield, pretending that her parents are still alive - that they will come for her if she needs help. Instead of me is the story of a woman who is trapped in a man's world - a girl with feathered dreams, a dancer whose eloquent movements stretch towards the light that fades even as she approaches it. It is a story about finding your voice when outside forces have silenced it.
