In the early 1980s, Mary Hall grew up in poverty in Camden, New Jersey, with her older brother Jacob and parents who, in her words, were "great at making babies, but not so great at holding on to them". After her father leaves the family, she is raised among a commune of mothers in a low-income housing complex. Then Mary's mother sends her away to live with her maternal grandparents who have also been raising her younger sister, Rebecca. When Mary is legally adopted by her grandparents, the result is a family story like no other. Mary gets a new name and a new life but she's haunted by the past. Mary is a student when her sisters start to get back in touch. With each subsequent reunion, her family becomes closer to being whole again.