After enduring a violent childhood, Cammie O'Malley has built a safe, happy life with her young family. But when her mother, Delos, develops dementia and Cammie moves her in, dark memories from her past come back to haunt her. Relying on her resiliant spirit and wry humor, Cammie works to overcome her past while still caring for her mother. But then Bobby Joe McAllister, Delos' disgusting boyfriend, arrives from Florida and whisks Delos away to parts unknown. While the family searches desperately for Delos, Cammie must also cope with her overdeveloped sense of responsiblity for her mother, and the knowledge that nothing in her life will ever change until she does.