The Horror of Dolores Roach follows the indomitable Dolores Roach, who returns to a New York City neighborhood that has changed drastically during the sixteen years she has been in prison. Her boyfriend missing, her family long gone, Dolores is recognized only by an old stoner friend, Luis, who gives Dolores room and board and lets her give massages for cash in the basement apartment under his dilapidated empanada shop.

When the promise of her newfound stability is quickly threatened, ‘Magic Hands Dolores’ is driven to extremes to survive-leaving in her wake a string of strangled massage clients. In the face of unexpected professional success, Dolores and Luis become dangerously symbiotic, and Luis must unleash his own particular predilections.