Maren Yearly yearns for love and respect, both of which are lacking in her life as a sinister secret forces her to live on the fringes of society. Maren struggles to reconcile the conflict between these wholesome wishes and an insatiable compulsion that has ruptured her family life and sense of self. When she falls fast and hard for Lee, an enigmatic young man, Maren is forced to confront the lifestyle thrust upon her head-on.