Razzle Penney, an oddball teen who works at the town dump, befriends Ken Baker when he and his parents first move to Cape Cod. Ken is drawn to Razzle's eccentricities, and she inspires the best photographs he has taken. However, she also introduces him to her nemesis, Harley, a boy-crazy beauty who gets what she wants and she wants Ken. As Ken's friendship with Razzle and his relationship with Harley both stumble, Razzle's mother comes back to town, with a revelation about Razzle's past that devastates her. Razzle wants to turn to Ken but finds that he, too has hurt her, and she may never be able to forgive him. As she did in her award-winning novel, Hard Love, Ellen Wittlinger shows that while love and friendship are critical, neither is easy to sustain.