The Call

Ike Lundquist is the quintessential lonely modern man. He is in communication with the world but totally out of touch. As a telemarketer, he performs his job over the phone. He talks to his family on the phone, he orders food by phone, and he even has phone sex. But Ike touches no one and no one touches Ike. Ike probably does not know whether he has created his solitary life himself or if it has been thrust upon him by circumstance. But whatever the case, his humdrum existence is abruptly ended by a dramatic intrusion. A new Constitutional Amendment requires him to make a call that will change his life - and that of a stranger - forever. The Call tells of Ike's struggles to deal with his unwelcome responsibility. He vainly tries bureaucratic channels in an attempt to be exempted. He strives to absolve himself from guilt by researching those whom the law targets - perhaps they deserve their fate? He attempts to gain absolution through apology to the relatives of those affected. He contemplates suicide. He even makes a pilgrimage of atonement to beg forgiveness. What Ike finds, in the end, is human contact in a most unexpected place, along with an emotional connection that penetrates even the stark barriers of his lonely life.