What is the main conflict in We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates?

We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates is a novel about the tenuous grasp on happiness of one American family. A young girl is raped by a high school acquaintance in a very small town, and the fallout affects the lives of everyone in her immediate family. It is a snapshot of the darker side of family life in the modern world.