After the death of her beloved grandmother and an enforced separation from her high school sweetheart Paul, young Ruby Landry leaves the bayou to search for her wealthy but estranged father in New Orleans.

Ruby and her twin Giselle are sent away to a girls' boarding school. But her cruel headmistress and stepmother plot against her, and she must endure torturous punishments and humiliation.

Ruby returns to her beloved childhood home, with her baby girl Pearl. However, Ruby can't escape the judging eyes of Paul's mother who knows Ruby and Paul's dark secret.

When one of Pearl's younger brothers becomes deathly ill, she must journey to the backwaters to find her mother and uncover the mysterious secrets of her past.