The story takes place in the southern United States in 1961. The precocious girl Levi Lun (Dakota Fanning) and her grandmother Rami (Piper Laurie) depend on each other. Sometimes, Levi Lun would return to her father's side, but the man's irritable temper and rude behavior always made her bruised and battered. Through her father's new girlfriend, Levi Lun first experienced the wonderful feeling that music brought her, and then embarked on the road of pursuing music. By chance, Levi Lun met a black gardener named Charles (Afemo Omilami), and the two were very congenial. When hiding from the rain with the boy Buddy (Cody Hanford) in the farmhouse, the two tasted the forbidden fruit for the first time, and Levi Lun was beaten by his father. In order to raise money to buy tickets for Elvis Presley's concert, Levi Lun sold his singing, but he didn't expect to be frivolous and offensive in return. For the first time, life showed Levi Lun a truly cruel side.