Based on Laura Kaplan's nonfiction book "The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service", the story follows a Chicago woman who founded and maintained the underground abortion service "Jane," a group of women who taught themselves how to perform abortions in the years before Roe v. Wade.

From 1968-73, they helped more than 11,000 women by providing safe - albeit illegal - services denied by the medical establishment. They also provided health education and counseling.