16-year-old Claireece ‘Precious' Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) is 16 years old, obese, struggling illiterately through middle school, pregnant with her second child (from her own father), and black in 1987 America. Precious lives in Harlem with her nearly psychotic mother, Mary (Mo'Nique), who physically, mentally and sexually abuses her daughter on a regular basis, leaving her mentally damaged almost beyond repair. The second pregnancy gets Precious ejected from school, but she's given a second chance in the form of an alternative school, where she meets Miss Blu Rain (Paula Patton), and a roomful of new friends with similar learning problems. Things start looking up, and some of the chips are brushed from Precious' ample shoulders.