Pat’s real parents give her to friends who adopt her; but her adoptive dad dies when she is eight. Her drunken adoptive mom lets men abuse Pat. She abandons Pat, who goes to a children’s home where she hears the gospel and hopes God will bring back her mom. When He doesn’t, she despairs and quits believing. A self-pitying, angry girl, she leaves the home at 17, tries college, tries suicide and several times commits herself to a psychiatric ward. Hooked on drugs, she again tries suicide. A friend rescues her and they live together. She gets pregnant and they marry but fight. Pat’s entanglement with her real family leads to her leaving her husband as the first part ends.