Jeanette is in a taxi, when she sees her homeless mother digging through garbage. Seeing her mother makes her reflect on her childhood.

Jeanette's first memory was of the time she was three years old and making her own food. Her dress caught on fire, sending her to the hospital. CPS became involved as they were questioning why the three year old was allowed to use the stove and the parents behavior.

Jeanette's father snuck her out of the hospital , not paying the bills and left their old house behind. The family lived in the desert for a while.

The Walls' family begins to move around several different desert towns for the few years. Dad's fear of conspiracy causes the family to move around a lot. When they run into money trouble, Mom gets a job as a teacher to put food on the table. After a run in with the law, the family moves to Phoenix after the mom inherits a house from her mother

In Phoenix the children begin attending school and Dad actually begins to hold jobs. It all falls through when Dad's acholism gets the best of him. After it gets the best of him. Mom suggests moving to Welch, West Virginia, where dad grew up. Dad refuses but eventually gives in at the last minute

Dad's mom turns out to be a very abusive woman and Welch is not very welcoming. The family lives in a house with no heat or indoor plumbing. Jeanette grows older and begins to resent her parents. She hatches a plan with her older sister, Lori to move to New York City as soon as they graduate. Even with some setbacks, such as dad stealing all the money they saved up to buy alcohol and cigarettes, the girls accomplish their goals.

Jeanette and Lori rent an apartment with heat and plumbing and eat well. Jeanette gets a job as a reporter, her dream job. The sisters then invite their young siblings ,Brian and Maureen,to live with them. As the kids enjoy their new lives together, Mom and Dad feel that they've been abandoned, so they move to New York.