After her husband's death, the mother of Julie, Jack, Sue, and Tom begins to suffer from an unidentified illness. Rather than going to hospital and letting the authorities foster her children, she opens a bank account for them so they can be financially self-sufficient and will be able to avoid being taken into care by the authorities. After she dies, the two older siblings decide to hide her body in the basement. Soon they begin to suffer both the emotional strains and pressures of their situation, as well as the changes that happen during adolescence.—Jagged-11