Elizabeth Finch is challenged to deal with the fact that she must somehow restart her life. She was a high school student, a nanny, a convict, and now a bag lady. She only has the clothes on her back and a small amount of money given to her by the state of New York for falsely imprisoning her for over three and a half years. This story details the situations she must conquer to go from bag lady to one accepted by society without the aid of parents or a mentor. She is on her own and must deal with conditions that the average American cannot comprehend. She finds a job then friends and finally a family. She does this while many times feeling like a vicious animal in a civilized society.