A young, feisty, rebellious girl from a difficult background is released from prison into the hands of a psychologist after attempting to kill her abusive stepfather. She proves to be a serious challenge for the shrink – highly intelligent, challenging, sexually provocative and funny. She has vibrant views on life, politics, sex and much else. She also reveals, after much verbal confrontation, that her secret ambition is to train as an opera singer. The shrink, who plays the piano, persuades her to sing an aria for him, and indeed she proves that she has a great voice.