Mallory Newman is a naïve and impressionable eighteen-year-old growing up in the 1960s. After the passing of her mother, her life at home becomes nearly unbearable with her father becoming more and more overprotective over her, to the point of where he barely allows her to leave the house. Lonely and yearning for more in life, she decides to take part in her church's new volunteer program, which eventually leads her to the Caney Correctional Facility, where, at a soul-winning meeting for the prisoners, she meets twenty-two-year-old John Arrington. The two immediately form a bond, and following the visit, begin to write each other for six months. John, through his charm and likeability, is able to convince not only Mallory, but the court judges of his own innocence, as he is soon released from jail. After seeking Mallory out, he asks her to leave with him. Although she accepts, her father immediately disapproves and forbids such a thing. And it is in that exact moment that Mallory realizes her beloved Johnny isn't quite as innocent as he made himself out to be.
