"Short Term 12" is told through the eyes of Grace, a twenty-something supervisor at a foster-care facility for at-risk teenagers. Passionate and tough, Grace is a formidable caretaker of the kids in her charge - and in love with her long-term boyfriend and co-worker, Mason.

But Grace's own difficult past - and the surprising future that suddenly presents itself - throw her into unforeseen confusion, made all the sharper with the arrival of a new intake at the facility: a gifted but troubled teenage girl with whom Grace has a charged connection.

While the subject matter is complex and often dark, this lovingly realized film finds truth - and humor - in unexpected places.