A mother and daughter of privilege from Connecticut and a victim of sex trafficking from Haiti are drawn into a dangerous web of exploitation on the streets of San Francisco. Echoing the Persephone-Demeter myth, it is the tragic story of love and innocence destroyed by dark societal forces.

Perry (15) and her mother Julia are estranged and, in an effort to repair their relationship, Julia sets up a vacation in San Francisco. Her plans are quickly overturned, however, when her plane is delayed and Perry is left on her own in the city. There she meets Bea, an exploited youth from Haiti.

Perry and Bea set out on a series of adventures and quickly develop strong feelings for each other. When Bea reveals she is the victim of sex trafficking, they try to extricate her from the ever-tightening web of danger which threatens to engulf them. Bound by this threat, they are in many ways mirror images, thrown together by chance and unseen forces, their fates gradually merging as the protections of class, race and gendered privilege slowly fade away.

Julia travels her own journey as her daughter pulls her out of her ordered life and into this volatile one. Initially focused, she mobilizes an effort to locate Perry, working with private detective Peter Wilson. Over time, her despair grows as she haunts the city’s dangerous streets, searching ever more desperately, often seeing Perry in the faces of passing teen girls. She is eventually brought to the depths of her grief as her search takes her to the backroom of a massage parlor. Throughout, a strong bond of love and resentment tie mother and daughter together even as they are threatened with permanent separation.

Peter’s search reveals a complicated system of sex-trafficking, but just as he is about to solve the puzzle, Perry and Bea are abducted with dire consequences. Eventually released, the girls are separated and Perry is reunited with Julia. Together, they return to Connecticut to a life forever altered by the events of the story.