Autumn hates her mother and the poverty they live in. She is ashamed of both but her hate defines her. If only her mother would tell her about her father or at least his name! When Autumn's mother needs surgery, she opts to care for her rather than go to a foster home. It is during this time she finds her mother's journals and her father. This reversal of mother/daughter roles renders insight to both sides of their relationship. Chris's twin brother is murdered. He battles grief and doubts of his own sanity due to seeing and hearing his dead brother. He struggles with the transition from 'Chris n Craig' to 'Just Chris'. It is the nightmares that finally reveal the awful truth. Ian is brutally abused by his alcoholic father. He develops empathic tendencies from being constantly alert to his father's moods. He stays in a cave when things get really bad. Ian's ability gets him into trouble with the law when he rescues a girl from being raped. It is then that Ian fears he is turning into his father. These three teens each find their way through unavoidable circumstances that life throws their way. Through these difficulties, they learn what is important to them, realize their own potential and who they are in the world.