After her parents' divorce, Lila Damrash moves with her mother to Monterey, California. The small town offers little to Lila, except a few friends and a confusing relationship with the boy down the street from her. Life finally seems to be pulling itself together for Lila, when her father sends her a letter saying that he has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. She wants to go see him, but her mother won't allow her, not knowing the true reason for her sudden need to see her father.