Tobacco country, Virginia, 1948. Cora is a bright girl who longs to rise above her life of poverty and alcohol. Enter a handsome drifter named Aaron who plays on Cora's hunger for affection. She learns the hard way that Aaron is no prince on a white horse. When a child is born of their union, Cora despairs of being free of abusive Aaron. But then she crosses the color line for a friend who will make all the difference to her and her child. A poignant, believable story in the tradition of "White Oleander" and "Bastard Out of Carolina."