In 1968, we meet six teens confined at the Good Shepherd, a dark and secretive institution controlled by Sisters of Charity nuns. They include Mairin, the free-spirited daughter of Irish immigrants, committed to keep her safe from her stepfather; Angela, who was denounced for her attraction to girls and was sent to the nuns for reform --- but instead she found herself the victim of a predator; Helen, the daughter of intellectuals detained in Communist China who saw her “temporary” stay at the Good Shepherd stretch into years; Odessa, who was caught up in a police dragnet over a racial incident --- but she found the physical and mental toughness to endure her sentence; Denise, who was sentenced for brawling in a foster home and dared to dream of a better life; and Janice, who couldn’t decide where her loyalties lie --- except when it came to her friend, Kay.