In 1956 the worst thing a teenage girl could do was to become pregnant. Joanna, Prissy, Jessie, and Mary become lifelong friends when they are incarcerated in the Frances Weston Home for Unwedmothers in Knoxville, Tennessee. Together they endure the culture of shame and soul crushing tactics dispensed by the Catholic Nuns who coerce the teenagers into relinquishing their illegitimate babies. The four young womens' vow of friendship bonds them as they rebuild their lives in the Deep South during the turbulent 1960's, while the roles of women and single mothers evolve in the decades that follow. When tragedy strikes, they must decide whether to keep their past secrets or discover the fates of the children they were forced to give away.