The play begins with Pelajia working on her roof, hammering shingles to it. She tells her sister Philomena about her desire to leave the reserve. Annie, their half-sister, comes in speedily, and they mention that she hasn't slowed down since the day she lost her husband to another woman (her sister, Marie-Adele). Annie is on her way to the post office to get what she believes is a record sent from her daughter. We also learn that bingo is of great interest to all of the women on the reserve, and they each have different dream purchases that they would make with their winnings. We also meet Marie-Adele and learn that she has cervical cancer. We also meet Veronique and her adopted daughter, Zhabooginan, a mentally disabled young woman who recounts her brutal rape by two white boys with a screwdriver years prior.
The women learn of "THE BIGGEST BINGO IN THE WORLD," an event in Toronto where there is a grand prize of $500,000. They all want to go, but do not have enough money to travel so far. They try to get the Chief to support their trip, promising to pave the roads with the bingo winnings, but he refuses. After a giant fundraising effort—collecting empty bottles, cleaning windows, doing laundry, etc.—the women raise enough money to set out in a van for Toronto.
On the trip we learn that Emily, a tough Rez Sister, was once in a motorcycle crew in San Francisco and was in love with the leader, who was suicidal. She tells the story of seeing her lover kill herself by driving her motorcycle into an oncoming car. On the way, the van gets a flat tire and they have to change it. Once they arrive in Toronto, they attend THE BIGGEST BINGO IN THE WORLD, which is a phantasmagoric circus-like event.
At the climactic moment in the play, Marie-Adele dies from her cancer and the play jumps back to the reserve. We learn Philomena won $600 at the bingo in Toronto and bought a new toilet with the money. Life continues on the reserve.
