The idealized scenes in Norman Rockwell's illustrations seldom reflected the reality of American families, including Jane Bertram's. Her world consists of a mostly absent father and an angry mother who vents her frustration on her daughter. Jane stubbornly refuses to become a victim, a stance that further infuriates her mother. Despite the overwhelming pain of knowing her mother hates her, Jane is determined to create a new life for herself.

Blackbird, a fictional autobiography, is the first book in a quartet that explores the taboo subject of mother-daughter abuse. The story spans a period in American history when women began to redefine their traditional roles.