In Camden, NJ, Dessie, a single mother with a teenage daughter, has survived a violent past through a vehement optimism. Dogged by her ex-husband, she nevertheless celebrates her small victories—buying a new color TV, meeting a cynical, street-wise man with enough vulnerability left to love her. But the daughter stumbles into a rape that leaves her partially paralyzed, the attackers are acquitted, and Dessie’s crutch of optimism collapses.