The house is cold. He doesn't look at her, just sits hunched at the kitchen table, with the hood of his sweatshirt up: under cover. Her son. He is even thinner than when she left. Night Navigation opens on a freezing-rain night in upstate New York: the kindling gone; the fire in the wood stove out. Del's 37 year old manic-depressive son Mark is already in withdrawal and Del's afraid to make the long drive north to the only detox that has a bed. Through the four seasons, Night Navigation takes us into the deranged, darkly humorous world of the addict -- from gun-toting dealers, to boot camp rehabs, to Koan-spouting NA sponsors. It also takes us into the repeating nightmare of a mother's anger, worry, despair, and hope. Mark cannot find a way to live in this world. Del cannot stop trying to rescue him. Through this long year's night, as Mark fitfully, painfully tries to steer toward the light, the steadfast love of mother and son is their sole sustaining grace.