In 2002, Ava, a 14-year-old girl from Bridgeport, Connecticut, is woken up in the middle of the night and sees her drug lord father murdered by two masked intruders, before grabbing a shotgun and gunning down the two assailants. Twelve years later, after a rough life and recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, Ava marries the affluent Derek Grant in Arlington County, Virginia, the two having met while attending Narcotics Anonymous gatherings.