In 1957, 12-year-old Annie Louise Slayton is the victim of an arranged marriage in order to pay a debt owed by her father. She is illiterate and naive in the small town of 250 people in northwestern Tennessee. She is afforded no privileges and is forbidden to leave the home. She bears three children — one by her husband and two by his stepfather. In the early mornings before the family arises, she sneaks out to the creek behind the home and finds solace in the soothing water, briefly escaping captivity and daydreaming of a better life.
Everything changes for Annie on a May morning in 1962 when she witnesses a supernatural occurence in the creek.
