Kate and John Coleman are rebuilding their troubled marriage. Kate had a drinking problem, but is in therapy and is doing well. She has been sober for one year. The couple decides to adopt a child. When they meet the nine-year-old Estonian girl, Esther, at the St. Marina Orphanage, they immediately fall in love with the well-educated orphan. Their young son, Daniel, is hostile to his new sister; but their deaf-mute daughter, little Max, is enchanted with her - at first. Eventually, Kate begins to feel that Esther is manipulative and possibly even psychologically disturbed. John refuses to listen to his wife's misgivings, and the wounds in their marriage reopen. Kate calls Sister Abigail at the orphanage, and the nun informs her that Esther has a troubled and mysterious history. Kate delves further into Esther's past and discovers she is not at all who she pretends to be.

Warner Bros. edited the film's trailer to remove Esther's line "It must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own" after receiving numerous complaints from adoptive parents and foster care organizations.

Esther:
I like it when it's just the two of us. You don't know how long I've waited for a daddy just like you.


John Coleman:
Mommy too, right?


Esther:
I don't think Mommy likes me very much.


John Coleman:
Hey. That's not true, Mommy loves you.


Esther:
It's all right. It must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own.


John Coleman:
Sweetheart, you're just as much part of this family as Danny and Max, okay? Why don't you do something nice for Mommy, show her how much you love her?


Esther:
That's a wonderful idea.

Written by Billy Hill
Performed by Isabelle Fuhrman (uncredited)