Donna Ford was five when she met her stepmother, Helen, the woman who was to become her tormentor and abuser. Labeled 'the bastard', Donna became the victim of physical and mental abuse which progressed to appalling sexual attacks: being beaten, starved, raped and locked in a cellar. Finally, when Donna was eleven, Helen split up from Donna's father and Donna started to pick up the pieces of her broken childhood. In 2003, Helen, found guilty of 'procuring a minor' for sexual abuse, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. The Step Child is an inspiring tribute to the resilience of the human spirit.