Nearly 18 years old, Molly Ayer knows she just has one chance. Months away from `aging out' of the welfare system and close to being kicked out of her foster home, a community service position helping an elderly woman, Vivian Daly, clear out her home is the only thing keeping her out of dentention or worse.

Vivian has led a quiet life on the coast of Maine, but in her attic are the vestiges of a turbulent past. As Molly helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, she discovers they aren't as different as they seem.