Life on the Fringe is the tale of a woman plagued by the effects of manic depression and seasonal affective disorder whose condition is greatly aggravated by the birth of her sixth child, which leads to poor living conditions and isolation for the family. The woman resents the child from her birth, and a struggle between the two escalates out of proportion, resulting in the torture of the girl that she must endure in order to keep the family together. The girl adores her father and competes with her mother for his love and attention. Although the father takes a special interest in the girl and a strong bond forms between them, his unwavering love for his wife is no match for the girl. When the father contracts tuberculosis and is sent to a sanatorium for over two years, the young girl is left vulnerable to the vicious attacks from her mother, and the hatred they feel for one another fuels their struggle, causing the girl to rebel, which leads to even greater abuse by her mother. By the time the father returns to the home, the mother has sunk into a deep despair, never to recover. Her death is greeted with relief by the young girl, but also the loss of her fathers attention, whose life has become meaningless without his wife. The girl does find love outside the home and is finally able to look forward to a brighter future.