The gifted young artist pits herself against the social conventions of mid-twentieth century America that are bent on shaping her into an ideal mother and wife. Mary Hellman Murphy struggles against the forces that drive her farther from her creativity and closer to madness. The tumultuous family over which she barely maintains control forces her deeper into her converted Catholic faith. In the culmination of her abandonment of herself, she finds herself implicated in a child's murder, confronting at last her gravest sin. Her youngest son, Danny, now a suicidal Hollywood prostitute, is the judge of her life and actions. After reading her diary, Danny must choose whether he can overcome the sad legacies of his mother and get on with his life, or succumb to the self-destructive forces those legacies wrought. This family saga explores what true sin is, what true confession is, and how our towns, churches, and mothers shape and twist, create and destroy our destinies. What responsibilities do our choices bring? How do our failures turn to guilt? What happens when we turn against our true nature? When does faith become obsession? Do we destroy ourselves as perpetual victims or can we use our pain for something higher?