"In the fragile first hours of Rainey's life, hospital doctors and nurses fight to keep her alive. Several months later she is released into her parents' custody where the baby is forced to live on neglect and tainted breast milk. Constrained in her home, infested with drug addicts and drifters, Rainey's drug-addicted parents leave little hope for her protection. While Rainey is still an infant, her aunt Sophie visits her and finds the baby dirty and hungry. A bond forms between the two until tragedy strikes. Rainey is alone again until her sister, Ivy, is born and the child breathes new life into Rainey's small, isolated world. But her parents have another plan, and with no one there to intervene on Rainey's behalf she must make sacrifices to feed her parents' cravings and to keep her sister safe. Follow Rainey's journey from a house crawling with junkies to the violent confines of a juvenile detention center where she finds friendship, and learns fearlessness from the most unexpected people." -- back cover