Madonna O'Dwyer is not the mother of the Messiah and she's not a sex-powered pop diva. She's a hardworking girl with a drama queen for a sister and a dad who sounds Irish when he's drunk. The mother who blesses (or cursed) her with her name died when she was young, leaving a hole in Madonna that, at seventeen, has become as raw as a decayed tooth. Madonna's friends think she can heal with her hands, but Madonna has her doubts. Her hands make pizzas and wash dishes. Her hands caress the boy and smash down the door. Her hands strangle demons from her past and pray for a spirited future. The hands of Madonna. The other Madonna.