This story portrays the life of Sally Sharp at various stages of her life. It depicts the plight of Sally as she struggles through the time of the actual abuse and then realizes she must never permit her spouse to abuse her again. Sally takes charge of her life as she gains full custody of their children. At the time of Sally's abuse, women's crisis shelters had not been established in the city where Sally lived. Also, women were not compensated financially for educating a spouse.