Fifteen-year-old orphan Jolene breaks free from foster care, marrying Mickey, a nerdy 20-year-old.

On the night before her sixteenth birthday, Jolene asks Mickey about his mother, but he rebuffs her and starts crying.

They start a passionate affair, and Phil promises to build a house for the two of them, but asks Jolene to keep their relationship a secret, due to them both being married.

Aunt Kay has Jolene placed in a juvenile mental institution, where she meets Cindy, a psychiatric nurse.

Jolene is called to testify against Uncle Phil, and he is sentenced to eighteen months in prison for statutory rape.

Jolene later is in Las Vegas, working as an erotic dancer when she meets Sal Fontaine, a mobster.

Jolene enjoys a life of luxury with Sal, going to fancy dinners and exploring her talent as an artist.

Brad pressures Jolene into quickly getting married and on their wedding night, he discovers a tattoo of a heart with flames on her backside, this triggers him and he anally rapes her.

When Jolene becomes pregnant, Brad interrogates her on how many people she has had sex with; when she refuses to comply, he slaps her across the face.

While staying in a shelter for battered women, the police come and arrest Jolene for kidnapping and Brad is granted an annulment.

[1] Jeanette Catsoulis of The New York Times praised Chastain's performance, noting that she "digs deep.