"The only people who think you are a doctor are you and your mom." Not exactly the warm welcome naive Wisconsin med school graduate Sal Iaquinta is expecting after moving to urban Oakland, California, for his first year of surgical residency. Now all this new doctor has to look forward to is somehow surviving the next 365 days of drug-addicted patients, sleep deprivation, brutal work hours, and even more brutal staff surgeons while also trying desperately to hang onto his humanity...not to mention his girlfriend back home. But as hard as They try to kill him by crushing his spirit along with his compassion, the one thing his superiors can't do is stop the clock. And it's just started to tick. For brand-new doctor Sal Iaquinta, the only way out of his intern year is the same way he gone in: one patient, one day at a time.