Emily, a maturing teenage girl, lives in a small town in the hills of West Virginia. Her dad is a coal miner and money is scarce in their family. In fact, the entire town suffers for the same reason - a lack of money and just enough to make it from paycheck to paycheck. Being born into a family of poverty has caused Emily to be bitter with her family. She's so self-conscious of being poor that she actually becomes ashamed of her family and her home...