First Friday

First Friday is rife with Irish malarkey, hearty drinking and visions of the Virgin Mary. Agnes Anne O'Neil, 28 and still living at home, hates her life and prays to the Blessed Virgin for a way out. Under her guidance, Agnes Anne has tackled her problems--speech therapy for her stutter and shyness, a leap from the back office to the real estate sales floor, and with the money she'll earn she's planning surgery for her hooked nose and chin. She even has a pet snail--certainly a lucky talisman and symbol of her slow but steady progress. But the lecherous moves of her brother-in-law, who sexually assaulted her in high school, continually ignite bad memories. Every first Friday of the month the family has a huge dinner and she has to see Bruno and relive the secret of that horrible night. Meanwhile, her sister Katie is unaware of the constant pressure Agnes Anne gets from Bruno, who has become obsessed with Agnes Anne's virginity and innocence. When Agnes joins the sales force, meets a nice Jewish accountant and brings him home, all hell breaks loose. The night her mother Irene sees the Blessed Virgin in the gravy pan, and Auntie Lucy sees the Blessed Virgin in her whiskey glass, it's taken as a warning that Agnes Anne has fallen off the righteous path. Agnes Anne, however, prays for Saint Michael's swift sword so she can metaphorically slay her tormentor, but the sudden death of her sister takes everyone's breath away and Agnes Anne is convinced that Bruno had something to do with it.