It's the Roaring Twenties in America, a decade defined by hedonism on the one hand, and prohibition on the other. Though her father is still alive, Mary Engle has spent much of her childhood in a Catholic orphanage, shunted between the guardianship of nuns and her frosty, fault-finding aunt. Despite being recognized for her intelligence, Mary feels she has no real prospects. That is, until she unexpectedly lands a position as a secretary for the glamorous, imperious Dr. Agnes Vogel, the head of Nettleton State Village for Feebleminded Women of Childbearing Age. Mary is initially besotted with Dr. Vogel, whose professional achievements and university education fly in the face of expectations for women at the time. However, things take a turn for the sinister when Mary recognizes a girl she grew up with, Lillian Faust, among the supposedly "moronic" inpatients at the facility. Mary ...