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Streetwise teenager Renie Lake (Karin Argoud) lands in juvenile hall charged with theft and drug dealing. Remanded to the custody of her father Russell (Lin McCarthy), Renie is ordered to move into the suburban home of Russell, his second wife Marlene (Bibi Besch), and her stepdaughter Gretchen (Kristina Sorenson). The embittered and resentful Renie refuses to warm up to her new family and surroundings until she is drawn out of her selfish (and self-pitying) shell via her friendship with a hearing-impaired fellow high-school student. This ABC Afterschool Special is based on a novel by Barbara Morgenroth.