The eleven year-old boy Nathan Perry is beloved by his parents that are going to give a dog for him. However his family is destroyed in a car accident when his parents die and the boy is sent to the custody of Milwood, an orphanage managed by Mr. Clemens. The boy is treated with love by the social assistant Judy, but abused by Mr. Clemens. When Nathan is bullied by other boys, Mr. Clemens sends him to the feared Ward B and the mean Katherine Rizzo becomes his tutor and he has medical assistance from the weird Doctor Charles. While snooping around the Ward B, Nathan discloses a dreadful secret. What have him discovered?