It’s 1962, an abused and emotionally unstable mother leaves her four small children on their own for weeks in an isolated Silverado Canyon cabin without enough food and water. How will they survive?

SYNOPSIS:

This is the true story of a family that becomes the victim of 1962 America, a society that sets abused and husbandless mothers adrift with virtually no help. Kathleen has been set adrift with four children, fathered by a physically and emotionally abusive man, once successful, now a hopeless alcoholic. Since Kathleen is now divorced with little or no child support or alimony, she must find a husband for financial support. In her efforts to nurture the right man, she often leaves her children alone for days at a time. Due to years of abuse, Kathleen’s will to remain a "present" mother weakens, and she becomes delusional regarding most aspects of family life. With LA County Social Services putting pressure on her to give up her children to foster care, Kathleen experiences a departure from reality as she leaves her four children (ages five to ten) at a secluded cabin owned by relatives in Silverado Canyon—this time for three weeks and with only about one week’s food and water, effectively leaving the children to starve. While Kathleen is trying to develop a relationship with a corrupt police detective in Las Vegas, her children struggle each day to find ways to survive. On top of the wooded hill above the cabin, there is a gypsy caravan which Kathleen had warned the children to stay clear of to avoid possible harm. Fear does keep the children away even as, daily, they smell delicious foods and the sounds of happy music and laughter. In the end, even though the gypsies fear paranoid retribution from white authorities, they come to the rescue.

SILVERADO CANYON