Life is tough for 15-year-old Shell. Since her mom died, her father has quit working and, when he
isn''t drinking, spends
his time collecting for the church and skimming the donations for enough to buy booze. Mostly he
isn''t home, and Shell is left to take care of her younger brother and sister, Jimmy and Trix, with little money and no help.
She starts a relationship with a local boy, but after he leaves for America, Shell discovers that she''s pregnant. Knowing nothing about having a
baby, and with no adult to guide her, she is left to do the best she can on her own. But when she finally gives birth (in a harrowing scene, on the kitchen floor and aided only by her young siblings) to a stillborn baby, her problems have only begun.