In 1977, Carol Morley (fictionalized as "Ann") was 11 years old when her dad drove her to school one morning, then drove home and killed himself. Trapped in a house with her emotionally distant mother, Ann starts drinking at 12, drops out of school at 16, and spends her teens trying to explore her emerging sexuality as well as coming to terms with her father's death. In a Manchester of the hedonistic 1980s, Ann finds the perfect playground for her self-destruction and promiscuity, hiding behind heavy drinking and drugs, trying to come to terms with why her father wanted to end his life. Told mainly from Ann's (Carol's) perspective, this story reveals the often devastating consequences of family secrets, and follows a young woman's struggle to find a place she belongs, finally finding a place at Central St. Martins in London to study fine art and film and achieving international acclaim. Though names and some events have been changed, this is Carol's compelling and inspirational true story.