A tool, introduced in the 90s by Barbot and Fenley and widely used since then, to study (pseudo)-Anosov flows on a 3-manifold M is the orbit space: a topological plane equipped with two transverse foliations with an induced action of the fundamental group of M. In this talk, I will discuss the inverse problem: Given a general group G acting on a bifoliated plane, how can we recognize that G is a 3-manifold group and the action is induced by a (pseudo)-Anosov flow? This is joint work with Sergio Fenley and Kathryn Mann