Based on a true story, Donna was born in West Virginia and was unwanted and unloved from birth. At two weeks old, her mother gave Donna to a sister to babysit, but her mother never came back for her. She was passed from family member to family member, never living with the same family for more than a few months. Often abused and neglected, she hid in a hole in the wall behind a dresser so that one of her abusive uncles couldn't find her.
At fifteen years old, Donna marries a young man eight years her senior and is happy for a while--poor, but happy. At twenty-four, they have five children together, and her husband passes away, leaving her alone. After a year of struggling, she attempts suicide.
After her attempted suicide, Donna and the children move back to Ohio where she later becomes a famous go-go dancer. She marries a man who is involved with mobsters and illegal gambling establishments. She gets hurt on stage one night and later becomes pregnant with her sixth child. When she is seven months pregnant, her second husband passes away.
Donna is forced to overcome being alone again, paralyzed, and having a newborn and five other children to raise.