Caroline seems like a typical high school sophomore. She has a best friend, a crush, and the coolest dad a girl could ever ask for. But she also has something inside of her that she knows doesn't belong. Something that casts a shadow over her adolescent rites of passage. Something she'd rather not name for fear that it will become too real. She knows it lives in her mind - the self-doubt, the sadness, the feeling that all is doomed, that everyone leaves, and that maybe it's her fault. It flips on as easily as a switch, and it can burn out as fast as a match, but it's always there, waiting.

Cody feels the pressure from everyone in his life. His parents expect an academically capable athlete. His friends want the life-of-the-party. He tries to be everything for everyone and loses himself somewhere along the way. He's amused by Caroline, someone so completely unlike him that he can't help but fall for her. In a world where being himself feels wrong, he finds the acceptance he longs for in their friendship.

The challenges of entering adulthood are amplified as Caroline faces her illness and Cody encounters a life-changing situation that tests everything he has ever known. Will their obstacles tear them apart or force them together?