For a three-act plot analysis, put on your screenwriter’s hat. Moviemakers know the formula well: at the end of Act One, the main character is drawn in completely to a conflict. During Act Two, she is farthest away from her goals. At the end of Act Three, the story is resolved.
Act I
Young mother Henrietta Lacks seeks help at Hopkins for a "knot" on her womb. She's got an unusual cervical tumor, and the surgeon takes some of her cells for research. Unlike most cells, they seem "immortal"; they grow like crazy in the lab. Henrietta suffers terribly and dies of her disease. Her husband reluctantly gives consent for an autopsy, not knowing how eager her doctors are to get their hands on as much of Henrietta as they can. Her cells, named "HeLa" by the researchers, are sent to labs around the world where they continue to grow.
Act II
The family buries Henrietta, and a deadly storm during the funeral makes the family think that something strange is going on. Her children are raised by relatives, and some of them suffer terrible abuse. It's a hard life. Meanwhile, Henrietta's cells continue to proliferate and are used for decades by researchers everywhere, resulting in major medical advances. Labs that are built to produce the cells start making an enormous profit. No one in the Lacks family knows anything about all this until an accidental meeting between Henrietta's daughter-in-law Bobbette and a man who works at the National Cancer Institute. He tells Bobbette about the HeLa cells and the news spreads like wildfire throughout the family. They feel angry and exploited.
Act III
Research on the HeLa cells continues and the family struggles with the aftermath of the revelation. Henrietta's daughter Deborah is determined to find out all she can about her mother and to get her the recognition she deserves. The family's fight for respect for Henrietta and her contributions to science leads to important discussions in the scientific community about patient rights, informed consent, health inequities, and ownership of one's own tissues. In the process, the public learns a lot about unethical research that was done on African-Americans. The Lacks family never gets any financial compensation from the HeLa cells, but they come to terms with the use of her cells and are proud of what she's done for medical science. The family's struggle eventually leads to stricter standards for the treatment of research participants and major changes in how privacy of medical information is maintained.