Thirteen-year-old Lakshmi lives a simple but joyful life with her family in a small hut on a mountain in Nepal. When harsh monsoons wash away their crops, her stepfather insists she must leave home to support them. A glamorous stranger promises a job as a maid in the city, and Lakshmi journeys to India full of hope to help her family. But upon arriving at Happiness House, the unthinkable truth is revealed: she has been sold into prostitution. Ruled by a cruel woman named Mumtaz, the brothel is a nightmare from which there seems to be no escape. Stripped of her freedom and cheated of her meager earnings, Lakshmi is told she cannot leave until she pays off her family's debt. Relying on the strength of her mother's words, she slowly forms bonds with the other girls trapped in this terrifying world. As she finds resilience in friendship and endures the unimaginable, Lakshmi must eventually decide if she is willing to risk everything for a chance to reclaim her life. This powerful novel gives voice to a girl robbed of her childhood yet determined to triumph.