Since the age of three, the austere conditions and strict directives of Peakie's Foundling Home have ruled 16-year-old Josefina Charo's life. Her inquisitive nature and love of books underscore an intelligence that allows her to graduate two years early from secondary school. However, she is crestfallen to learn Peakie's will not provide a higher education, nor will she be permitted to leave because she's too young. Her spirit dampened, she searches for a way to escape her prison and grabs her chance when she sees it, but she soon discovers the harsh realities of being on her own. Life is difficult, at best, for a teenage girl with no real world experience.