Madeleine

Madeleine is a young girl much beloved by her mother, until the fateful day in which she is caught in a compromising position with the village idiot. Madeleine's friends and family forsake her and her controlling mother punishes her by dipping her wicked hands in a pot of boiling lye. Madeleine's hands grow together as they heal, giving her a permanent deformity that robs her of her ability to create the life of her choosing. In defiance, she runs away and joins up with a band of fellow misfits. Their influence on Madeleine seems empowering to the young girl, but the lifestyle she learns from the gypsies ultimately increases her disgrace.

Madeleine plans a grand homecoming in the hopes of redeeming herself in the eyes of her village and most particularly, her mother. Madeleine's plan is nothing more than a childish dream. The plan fails dramatically, as Madeleine's...