In the small California coastal town of Cape Haven, residents gather to look at the rubble of one of the town’s oldest homes along the cliff overlooking the beach. The beachfront properties are falling victim to rampant erosion. Dickie Darke, a real estate developer, is buying the remaining homes to develop new beachfront homes.

Five-year-old Robin and 13-year-old Duchess Radley live with their mother in Cape Haven. Their mother, Star, addicted to prescription medication and alcohol, works at a strip club owned by Darke. They do not know their father but assume, like the rest of the town, that they were the product of one of Star’s numerous liaisons. When the children return from school and find their mother passed out, an empty pill bottle near her, Duchess calls 911. At the hospital, they are met by Walk, the town’s sheriff and a family friend. Walk understands that Star has never recovered from the trauma of the death of her younger sister, Sissy, in a hit-and-run accident more than 30 years ago. The boy who was driving, Vincent King, is getting out of prison tomorrow.