Unable to cope with raising his children alone, Robert Sullivan abandons them to others, until he has a change of heart and decides to go back for them. But on the way there, he is involved in a horrific accident. Jack and Nancy are placed in the brutal regime of the Galloway Children's Home, where Jack's devotion to his sister and fiery temper land him in more trouble. The children find themselves at the mercy of the corrupt Clive Ennington, who splits them up and sells Nancy off to the highest bidder.