Molly, at fourteen, was the eldest of the three girls who are at the heart of the story. She, along with her relatives Gracie, eleven, and Daisy, just eight years old, were dismayed and frightened by their fate. Molly, a free-spirited girl and natural leader, decided on the evening before the first day of school that she and her two friends would control their own destiny. In the morning, she announced to the other two girls that they would be escaping. They were running the risk of being recaptured and punished. Anyone who tried to escape was placed in the "boob" (jail), beaten with a strap, had their heads shaved and were given only bread and water for a week. Molly was told that no one had ever successfully escaped. But Molly was undeterred. She was determined that she and her little friends would return to the people who loved and cared about them.