Mandy and Jolee may live with their father Dale-but they can only rely on each other and Mrs. Mattern, the widow who lives next door. Dale is an erratic, sometimes violent drunk. The girls' mother is dead, and a distant grandmother is their only other relation.

Hidden in Mrs. Mattern's possession is a gold box belonging to the girls' mother, a box containing a secret that only Mrs. Mattern and the Reverend Johnson know but one which deeply concerns the two sisters.

When an act of violence drives Mandy and Jolee out of their home, they suddenly find themselves in possession of the box...