In a small and rowdy American town, twelve-year-old Elissa waits at the hospital with her father, Luke, and her dog, Pal. Her mother, Beryl, is in labor, and Luke angrily storms off to the bar when complications arise. Elissa is left only with the comfort of her dog, whispering to him that everything will be okay. The doctor comes out again to tell Elissa to fetch her father. While walking to the bar, some soldiers from the new base approach her and offer her a ride. She accepts, and the driver starts touching her inappropriately, despite the rebuke from his friends. Elissa mistakes his actions for true affection and leaves in a daze after they drop her off at the bar. After fetching her father and returning to the hospital, the baby is a boy with deformities and an unpredictable chance of for survival. After the birth, Beryl falls into an almost catatonic state, refusing to hold or see the baby. As soon as she gets home, Elissa takes full responsibility for caring for her brother. Kids at school start bullying her for it, and her teacher pulls her aside and insists that she describe his deformities. Elissa says that he is just a normal baby with blue eyes who loves to play and sleep, but her teacher refuses to accept that answer. When Beryl finally holds him for the first time, she names him Jason, and he dies at age two. After Jason’s death, Elissa makes friends with Florence, a girl who is rumored to sleep around with soldiers. Her parents have a turbulent relationship at home, and Luke takes up the hobby of shooting. Elissa sometimes considers using the gun to commit suicide. She starts regularly joining Florence on visits to the bar and loses her virginity to one of the soldiers. She thought they were in love, but right after sex, he informs her that he will be transferring bases in a few days. After the soldier drops her off at home, her father drunkenly beats her and tears her clothes, until her mother intervenes. A few months later, Elissa finds out that she is pregnant. Beryl reassures Luke that it is not his, since he could not really recall what happened that night she came home from the bar. As punishment, Elissa’s parents take her into the woods and order her to shoot her own dog before giving her the gun.