 Accidentally blinded by her prostitute mother Rose-Ann (Oscar winner Shelley Winters) at the age of five, Selena D Arcy spends the next 13 years confined in the tiny Los Angeles apartment that they share with "Ole Pa" (Wallace Ford), Selena s grandfather. One afternoon at the local park, Selena meets Gordon Ralfe (Sidney Poitier), a thoughtful young office worker whose kind-hearted treatment of her results in her falling in love with him, unaware that he is black. They continue to meet in the park every afternoon and he teaches her how to get along in the city. But when the cruel, domineering Rose-Ann learns of their relationship, she forbids her to have anything more to do with him because he is black. Selena continues to meet Gordon despite Rose-Ann s fury, who is determined to end the relationship for good.