Vivien Kindler, on impulse, gets a job hosting a local phone-in radio show. She has an unusual idea: she thinks that all her callers have worth, are interesting, and if they'll just stay on the line and talk with her, everyone else will think so too.

The "regulars" serve up a fun tapestry woven on the sturdy warp of the coastal Maine landscape: a delivery guy who reads Vivien poems written on his route; a lady broken by the long-ago death of a child; a retired, one-legged gardener who once built Navy ships. Others remind her that she is "from away" and will never belong.

Is Vivien's gentle radio counsel really doing anything-or is it all just talk?

In Talk Radio, Ham Martin deftly imbeds a surprising story in the live dialogue spoken over the air. Tune in to WNWT, Frost Pound, Maine. This Vivien is surely something special.