Since her father left her mother for a young model and influencer, who seems sculpted by the gods, Nina (12) feels her life slipping through her fingers. Her mother’s mental and physical health are in decline since her difficult divorce, forcing Nina to live for an extended time with her father and her new stepmother. A woman who awakens in her, for the first time, insecurities that she did not know existed about her body. Black hairs on her arms, flesh hanging from her vagina, pores filled with the dirt she feels represents her: Nina feels grotesque.

Hoping to improve her social status among the hormonal teenagers at her new school, Nina creates a black market for her stepmother’s used panties, embarking on an overwhelming exploration of her sexuality and identity. Inadvertently, this inner journey of hers will bring her closer to her stepmother as she attempts to fill the immense maternal void in her life. But the more she becomes attached to this woman she seems made to hate, the more she feels like she is betraying her mother.