Longing for Laurie is a Gothic tale based on the commemorative baby syndrome. Laurie Wilder, a vibrant young woman, suffers a cardiac arrest from a blood clot and is rendered vegetative. She and her husband Ted are childless. The families of husband and wife are divided, but agree on one thing: to harvest Laurie's oocytes and implant an embryo in a surrogate. As their requests/demands wind through an ethics committee and the court, Laurie's brother unravels. His paranoia is fuelled by a burgeoning relationship between Ted and Zelda, an idealistic physician assistant. The outcome is traumatic for all the families involved.