Ruby James lives life to the full, the state-run hospital where she
works as a nurse a microcosm of the community in which she was born and
bred. While some outsiders might label the people of this town "white
trash," she knows different, reveling in a vibrant society that values
people over money, actions above words.
For Ruby, every person is unique and has a story to tell, whether it is
skinhead taxi driver Steve, retired teacher and rocker Pearl,
magic-mushroom expert Danny Wax Cap, or former merchant seaman Ron
Dawes. She encourages people to tell their tales, thrilled by the images
created. Outside of work she drinks, dances, and has fun with her
friends, at the same time dealing with her mother's Alzheimer's and a
vision from the past, aware that physical and mental health are precious
and easily lost. The epitome of positive thinking, Ruby sees the best in
everyone--until the day true evil comes to call.
A mystery figure roams the corridors of Ruby's state-run hospital. He
carries special medicine and a very different set of values. He tells
himself that he wants to help, increase efficiency, but cost-cutting
leads to social cleansing as humans are judged according to that
white-trash agenda. Excuses and justifications flow as notions of heaven
and hell are distorted. Set against a background of pirate radio
stations, pink Cadillacs, and freeway dreams, White Trash insists
there is no such thing as white trash.
