The year is 2001.
On her way out of work on a frigid October night, two inebriated thugs assault pregnant Ashley Ferguson as she goes to get in her car. She is knocked unconscious and is taken to the field behind the shopping center where 23-year-old Ashley is brutally raped. This horrifying event devastates her emotionally, not only for obvious reasons, but also because it comes in the wake of her husband’s tragic death.
Down and out as well as broke, talented abstract painter Ashley is forced to moved back home with her mother. Claire Whittaker, who is retired, does not want the responsibility of having to take care of Ashley’s baby. Even though she loves the child dearly, it shouldn’t be her job.
Then one day, after peeking in her daughter’s diary, Claire is shocked to learn that Ashley is hearing voices, which are telling her to commit suicide with the .22 caliber revolver that she had supposedly bought for protection.
So who will save her? Who will save Ashley from the drugs and alcohol that begin to control her life? Who will help her become the responsible parent that her baby deserves?
Could it be Troy? The supermarket employee who had chased away the rapists? And with whom Ashley had fallen in love with? Would he accept not only her, but also her and Peter’s child? Ashley hopes so, because without someone to love, life doesn’t seem worth living.