Hope Mills — Constance Pierce

It is 1959 in Hope Mills, amill town in North Carolina. Cotton is losing the market to the new easy care fabrics, men are losing their jobs, and race relations are on the verge of explosion. Hope Mills' women are trapped economically, socially, and psychologically; at the mercy of their men in a strongly patriarchal society. Young girls live on dreams of escape, yet reality hold them in a firm grip. Told from the perspective of Tollie, who hopes to go to college, and der best friend Lily, who has her sights firmly set on Hollywood, this is a powerful portrait of life in the rural South at the cusp of a new age, and provides a compassionate yet sanguine glimpse at the inner torments and triumphs of two young women facing the challenges of adulthood with tremendous endurance and determination.