Plot Synopsis

Based on the novel by V.C. Andrews. A 1950s housewife, Corrine Dollanganger, is forced to stay with her wealthy, ultra-religious parents after her husband suddenly dies. She takes her teenagers, Christopher and Cathy, and 5-year-old twins, Cory and Carrie, to her family's large mansion, where they must never be seen. Her dying father must never know she has children, as she shamed the family years ago by marrying her uncle. She convinces the kids to stay hidden in the attic so she can reclaim the family fortune after the old man passes. Their once perfect lives are now a nightmare, as they are locked away and at the mercy of their crazy, holy roller grandmother, Olivia Foxworth. Corrine soon abandons the kids after she becomes involved with a wealthy man who she plans to marry. The children endure unimaginable treatment at the hands of the ruthless Olivia. As years go by Cathy and Christopher come of age, both emotionally and sexually, turning to each for love and comfort, soon repeating the patterns of their family's sordid past of abuse and incest.