He grew up in Justice, Ill., a working - class suburb on the fringe of Chicago, in a household headed by his stepfather, an ironworker, and his mother, a traditional homemaker.
The tale is narrated by 16 - year - old Louisiana tramp Dedee Truitt (Christina Ricci), who buries her stepfather and then heads for Indiana to visit her homosexual half - brother Bill (Martin Donovan).