Charleston, South Carolina, 1995. 

Forty-four-year-old Eleanor Miller, scion of a wealthy family and widow of the wealthy banker Emerson Miller, is an extreme racist, harsh and ruthless even with her three children. Eleanor, who has been confined to a wheelchair for the past eight years after an accident, refuses to have black servants in her employ; however, even her white maids, unable to tolerate her offensive behavior, leave one after another. Her daughter, Harriet, who has taken on the role of caretaker, suffers, realizing that her mother is using her as a servant. Her middle son, Ernest, is more flexible and tolerates her, but the eldest, William, is constantly at odds with her. Until a young mixed-race girl, Victoria, appears at her mansion, begging for work. With no other choice, Eleanor reluctantly accepts her.

Victoria, a very special girl, gradually and in her own way, touches the stone heart of Mrs. Miller, unintentionally revealing her well-hidden secrets that shock everyone around her. Even Mrs. Miller herself.