In the mid-60s, Janis Ian, a tiny teenage Jewish singer-songwriter from New Jersey, scores a controversial hit single called "Society's Child," about an interracial love relationship. The song launches her illustrious career but also ignites death threats, plunging her into an emotional tailspin—only to emerge from the ashes in the 1970s with an even bigger hit, "At Seventeen," a song ahead of its time in confronting lookism and bullying.

Janis overcomes a host of obstacles—embezzlement, record industry misogyny, and heartbreak—to find love and produce an indelible body of searingly honest songs that earn her a devoted following and critical acclaim.