Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions of sexual and domestic assault.

The women of the Owens family have always been scapegoats in the Massachusetts town where they have lived for over two centuries. Neighbors convinced themselves it was dangerous to even walk by their house. After their parents die in a fire, sisters Sally and Gillian move into the Owens house with their aunts, Frances and Bridget. Sally, the older of the sisters by 13 months, is quiet and responsible, while Gillian is carefree and selfish. From an early age, Sally learns to do the cooking and cleaning to take care of herself and her sister. Despite their differences, they remain close because no one else wants to be friends with them. Other children play pranks on them in school. Once, someone leaves a dead mouse in Sally’s desk. One day, all the aunts’ cats follow Sally to school and refuse to leave. When a boy sets one of the cats’ tails on fire, Sally berates him just before a piece of the ceiling falls on his head. From that point forward, all the children and even the teachers are too scared to do anything but avoid them.