Synopsis

“You don’t need college to know how to raise babies,” is the only advice Rita Felt ever got from her perpetually drunk and domineering father. Haunted by his memory and stuck in a long-term relationship with an abusive, alcoholic boyfriend, Rita believes she is trapped in a dead-end life. Forever threatening to leave him, she can never find the courage to go through with it, a fact he is well aware of. After their latest fight, Rita drives to the local park to wait for him to blow off some steam before making her inevitable return. She falls asleep and when she awakens, Rita is horrified to find that night has fallen. To makes matters worse, her car has a flat tire. She calls AAA for help only to learn that her boyfriend never renewed the policy as promised, just another in a long list of his lies to her. Rita is then faced with two choices, give in and call him for help or change the tire herself, something she doesn’t think she can do. But somewhere deep inside, Rita finds the will power to try and when, to her amazement, she successfully gets the spare on, her life changes forever. If she can change a flat tire, she can just as easily change her life. Armed with this realization, Rita drives all night to the city of her dreams, Los Angeles, to begin a new life; leaving the boyfriend and her bad memories behind for good.