Marci prays every night for God to make Eddie leave and to turn her into a boy.

Eddie threatens to shoot himself with his hunting rifle while Marci and Corin watch from the doorway.

Eddie beats Marci and Corin with his belt in the first violent attack Marci can remember.

The family moves to a new apartment where Marci meets teenage neighbor Raquel and immediately develops a crush.

Danny returns from Vietnam having lost an eye in combat; Marci senses his deep emotional trauma.

Marci confesses her attraction to girls to Father Chacón, who accepts her while assuming she is a boy.

At a church fundraiser, Marci hides and watches Uncle Tommy emerge from the confession booth followed by Father Chacón.

Eddie brutally beats Corin on Easter for refusing to eat the white of her egg.

Grandma Flor arrives to take the family away; when Eddie refuses to let them go, he strangles her and she pulls a knife.

Delia refuses to leave with Flor; before departing, Flor gives Marci and Corin each a knife.

Eddie returns home after Delia forgives him; Marci tends to her depleted garden as their peaceful routine collapses.

Eddie repeatedly calls Tommy a homophobic slur; Tommy responds by punching Eddie in the face with a single blow.

Delia finds photos of Eddie with Wanda and begins slapping Marci; Eddie comes home and beats Delia.

Corin shoots Eddie in the back with his rifle; Marci takes the gun and sits with the injured Eddie until police arrive.

Marci and Corin slip away from police, reach the bus station, and buy tickets to Flor's town.

Marci is an 11-year-old Chicana girl trapped under her abusive father Eddie's control, praying both to escape him and to be transformed into a boy. After the family moves to a new apartment, she falls for a teenage neighbor while her cousin Danny returns from Vietnam visibly and emotionally scarred. Her first confession brings unexpected acceptance of her identity, but witnessing Uncle Tommy's secret with a priest leaves her shaken. A brutal Easter attack triggers her grandmother Flor's dramatic intervention, which fails when Delia refuses to leave Eddie. After Eddie returns and escalates his violence, a confrontation over photos of his affair ends with Corin shooting him with his own rifle. The two sisters flee to their grandmother's home, where Marci finally experiences her first romantic kiss and a sense of genuine safety.

The headline events driving Marci's story from beginning to end.

Delia finds a cigarette Marci hid for Eddie and mistakes it for an evil eye, asking Leti to remove it.

After being mocked for her movie star dream, Marci decides she would rather be Supergirl and save women from violent men.

Marci asks Sister Elizabeth for proof that Jesus was ever alive and is forbidden from asking further questions in class.

At a Girl Scouts meeting, Marci announces she would choose to be a saber-tooth tiger while her peers give tame answers.

Marci asks librarian Miss Buck about a girl changing into a boy; other patrons overhear and stare at her.

Marci meets Randy, a feminine boy who lives nearby and whose dislike of sports constantly angers his father.

Marci and Corin attend Miss Patt's prayer meeting and Marci agrees to be saved; the promised candy turns out to be stale.

Eddie beats Marci at home after she eats a cucumber without permission at a family gathering.

Corin lifts Danny's eyepatch during a family visit, revealing an empty socket where his eye used to be.

Holy Communion instructor Miss Beauchamp hits two of Marci's classmates with a ruler hard enough to make them cry.

Delia packs the girls onto a bus heading toward Flor's town; a phone call from Eddie convinces her to turn back.

Marci reads a karate book from the library and practices moves on Randy until he cries.

Tommy reluctantly teaches Marci karate but insists she should simply call him the next time Eddie becomes violent.

Raquel gets married and moves away, leaving Marci a bag of gardening tools and a short farewell note.

Delia tells police Corin accidentally shot Eddie while he was cleaning his rifle; neither parent ever comes to claim the girls.

Across smaller but significant scenes, Marci's personality takes shape through her questioning of religion, her fantasies of rescue, and her encounters with characters who define the edges of her world. From challenging her catechism teacher to meeting the gentle Randy, Marci continually bumps against social expectations she cannot fit. The reality of the Vietnam War enters through Danny's hidden wound, while unhelpful adults like Miss Beauchamp and well-meaning ones like Tommy illustrate the limits of protection available to the girls. Delia's one attempt to flee Eddie collapses under his charm on a phone call, and Raquel's departure closes a chapter of Marci's longing. The pool closes with the legal and domestic aftermath of the shooting, showing how Marci and Corin are quietly left to build new lives far from home.

The secondary moments that reveal character and deepen the story's world.

Marci prays to become a boy not because she thinks she is one but because she likes girls.

Marci learns her cousin Raylene was born a boy but raised as a girl after doctors made a mistake.

Delia shoves Marci away with her elbow during a church service, the moment she withdraws her affection permanently.

Marci dreams she has grown a penis but wakes to realize she is still completely alone with her secret.

With Eddie gone, Delia gets her driver's license and a job; the family settles into a peaceful new routine.

Marci holds one of Flor's knives and confronts Eddie alone when he arrives while Delia is at work.

After returning home, Eddie beats Marci and Corin deliberately without leaving visible marks, making him more dangerous than before.

Marci looks up the word 'queer' at the library and realizes for the first time there is a name for her attraction to girls.

Marci and Corin's elaborate plan to tie Eddie to his bed and threaten him is revealed to be Marci's daydream.

Danny is buried under a tree overlooking the bay, fulfilling the final wish he expressed before his death.

Eddie brings Wanda home for drinks and introduces her to the family; Delia sleeps alone on the couch.

Marci photographs Eddie and Wanda kissing outside a bar after staking out the location for nearly a week.

Marci tells Tommy she saw him emerge from the confession booth with Father Chacón; Tommy takes the photos and keeps her secret.

Marci turns 12 and accepts she will never become a boy, deciding she must figure out who she is as a girl.

Robbie confesses to Marci that she also likes girls; they hold hands for the first time and share their first kiss.

This pool traces the internal shifts and pivotal discoveries that transform Marci from a passive girl into someone capable of decisive action. Her early prayers about gender and sexuality define her longing, while the momentary peace after Eddie's departure shows her what safety could feel like and sharpens her will to protect it. As Eddie's violence escalates and Marci begins researching her own identity in a library dictionary, she finds that naming her desires gives her a new kind of power. A revenge daydream, photographs of Eddie's affair, and a confession to Tommy about his secret all mark her growing courage and agency. By the time she accepts that she will never be transformed into a boy, she has already become someone strong enough to survive without that transformation. The story closes with her first experience of mutual love, fulfilling the wish she always held closest.