Dawn was the first girl Cathy Glass ever fostered. A sweet and seemingly well-balanced girl, Dawn's outward appearance masked a traumatic childhood so awful that even she could not remember it.

During the first night, Cathy awoke to see Dawn looming above Cathy's baby's cot, her eyes staring and blank. She sleepwalks--which Cathy learns is often a manifestation in disturbed children. It becomes a regular and frightening occurrence, and Cathy is horrified to find Dawn lighting a match whilst mumbling it's not my fault in her sleep one night.

Cathy discovers Dawn is playing truant from school and struggling to make friends. More worryingly, she finds her room empty one night and her pillow covered in blood. Dawn has been self-harming in order to release the pain of her past.

When Dawn attempts suicide, Cathy realizes that she needs more help than she can give. Dawn's mother eventually confides in her that Dawn was sent away to live with relatives in Ireland between the ages of five and nine, and Cathy soon realizes that the horrors Dawn was exposed to during this time have left her a very disturbed little girl.