Stone Mother

The final installment of a medical trilogy, Stone Mother refers to the old Los Angeles County Hospital.


On entering residency training, a married couple carry their 1960s activism into the ‘70s. They struggle to balance overwhelming responsibilities with their ideals, attempting to reform the “system,” but ultimately it is their personal lives that suffer.


Max King is driven to make a better world. As a medical resident at L.A. County Hospital, he has daunting responsibilities. Jan King, his wife, is a resident in pediatrics. She’s a reluctant reformer. 


On New Year’s Eve 1976, Max visits his best friend, Abe Grant, and pours out his soul about the last five years.


In 1970, Max and Jan King finished a difficult year of internship at the hospital. Max has transformed from an indifferent medical student into a leader of young activists, while Jan struggles with an abusive academic culture.


The hospital is short of funds and key staff. The activists hold a press conference to claim that twenty-five patients have died from inadequate care. Afterward, they’re subjected to a witch hunt to quash their complaints.


Meanwhile Jan is pregnant and delivers a baby with a medical complication that suggests paternity other than Max.