Middle aged D (Julie Christie) struggles to survive in the failing city, where electricity is infrequent, water delivery scarce and trash pick up non-existent.

D's grasp on reality is questioned as she can also travel back in time and observe a Victorian age family that resided in the same apartment.

D may be witnessing the distorted history of the young woman currently in her care, as the child in the Victorian age is also named Emily, although whether these trips to the past are actually occurring or they are a fantasy in D's mind is a question left unanswered.

[5] Variety praised the performance of Christie, but stated that the low budget hampered the portrayal of the degenerating city.

The website Experiential Conversations states that the movie "takes an impressionistic approach" to the material of the novel, while mentioning that Christie is able to carry this curious and haunting film; however, they state that the viewer must abandon trying to comprehend the literal meaning of the Victorian sequences, and instead accept the film on the whole as an immensely atmospheric mood piece.