Born of a desperate need to please her mother and to escape an abusive father and brother, she becomes addicted first to Bingo and then to slot machines. She slowly slips into a life of lies, self-deception, and despair and finds herself on the verge of losing everything, including her family and ultimately her life.
When she attempts to pull herself out of the spiral of depression and defeat, she is beaten back through a blatant disregard of the law by the powerful Detroit casinos. She comes to learn that the influence of casino profits on the political system is overwhelming and that the economic interests of the state far outweigh the social costs. In the end, she can't win on the slots, but with the love and support of her husband, she can put a broken life back together