Perhaps this is the reason that David Harrower chose this title for his wrenching, prize-winning drama about a confrontation between a young woman and an older man 15 years after their inappropriate relationship.

Their original connection occurred when she was 12 years old and he was 40 - an alarming fact. They've had no contact since his three-year imprisonment for abduction and abuse of a minor. He now goes by the name of Peter.

The dialogue takes place in a junky-looking room, in an office complex where Peter works, a minimal accommodation where employees can gather on their breaks.

The room has a coat rack, some small lockers, a table, a vending machine and an overflowing wastebasket. The space is littered with old garbage and suggests the tawdry history between them. We feel uncomfortable in this room and with this situation as we watch with a mix of fascination and queasiness.

Una lived in the same neighborhood as Ray, an ex-marine, a fact that the playwright doesn't really develop as indicative of anything in particular or relevant to the ensuing events. He met the attractive, somewhat precocious young girl at a neighborhood party at her family's house. He had a girlfriend, but none he was really all that interested in.

Ray and Una started chatting and immediately felt some connection and enjoyment of each other's company, and over time, her crush on him and his inexplicable fascination with her led to an unforeseen and tragic alliance that never should have occurred, had Ray had better judgment.

The long-delayed meeting between them unleashes an angry diatribe from Una, one which recounts the horrible repercussions of their actions on her life, accusations he tries to escape but not deny.

During the next 90 tense minutes, a more complete picture emerges for them and for us as they share their individual perspectives on their relationship. It is intense and puzzling and sad and disturbing.

Are there choices we make from which we can never fully recover? The message in this play suggests that there are.

Una seems to have made less progress than Ray, and yet Ray's recovery is more superficial than real. He is not a monster, nor a pedophile by its usual definition, nor a psychopath.

We feel something for this man, though we strongly assign blame and responsibility for this "mess" on his shoulders. But more of our sympathies go to Una, who seems irreparably broken by this experience of early love. And because she was never given his letters from jail or treated with any enlightened compassion or assistance by the courts or family and friends, she always felt abandoned and unloved. The aftermath of the event was almost worse than the event itself.

The issue of abuse is complex. Rape is more clear-cut than the predicament we find ourselves in here. We certainly can't excuse or condone what happened between them, but this story can broaden our understanding and perhaps increase our sensitivities while softening our judgments toward the parties involved and how a given culture deals with them.

We leave the theater in an unsettled state with more questions than answers. We don't know what to think but it surely got us thinking. Carrie Coons and Brian Mani took on two difficult roles here and more than met the challenge.

It's a problem that's not solved but perhaps better understood by them and by us.

If you're not too squeamish and too rigid in your judgments, and are able to endure ambiguity, you'll derive some benefit from this very honest look at this dark reality.

The play runs through Feb. 7 at the Studio Theatre, 158 N. Broadway, Milwaukee.

Susan Fete ably directed this gritty drama for Renaissance Theatreworks, a company known for tackling thorny issues.