When Catherine returns home on the eve of ceremonies honouring her physician father, she unleashes a kaleidoscope of memories as father and daughter attempt to lay old ghosts to rest. While public service has been the keynote of Doc's life it has covered the private anguish of a family in crisis. Interacting with figures from the past (including wife and mother Bob, best friend Oscar, and Catherine herself as the young child Katie), the characters retrace and relive past triumphs and tragedies, culminating in Bob's death.

Humour leavens this drama of a father and daughter's struggle to love, to forgive, and to understand in order to go on. Doc was first produced in 1984 at Theatre Calgary and has since been produced widely elsewhere. The play received the Governor General's Award for Drama in 1986.