Unhappy with her mundane suburban life after the loss of her mother and her father’s remarriage, sixteen-year-old Desiree Valentine longs for freedom. A fateful summer vacation in Breechwater provides her with adventure and a sense of belonging when she falls in with a group known as the Outlaws and falls in love for the first time. A tragedy forces her to choose between her middle-class values or her newfound friends, a decision that will determine her future.