On the verge of puberty, eleven-year-old Jordan March is sent to live with her spinster great-aunt, after her grandmother accuses her of having an incestuous relationship with her teenaged brother Ian, and stumbles upon a long-buried secret about her family's enigmatic past.

Karen and Zipporah are best friends, sharing everything, including a clever scheme when Karen's stepfather begins molesting her, but things get out of hand when Karen disappears on the eve of her stepfather's murder.