The story starts darkly, as a five year-old girl, trapped in fear, turns a key and opens a door to get help for her beaten mother. They escape but the child goes into foster care for the next five years. Later as an adolescent, an inscribed pencil given to her by a public school teacher leads her to search for God. Each chapter finds her walking through another door, eventually becoming a successful journalist, far from the fearful home of domestic violence.