"After the tragic death of her mother and a long period of isolation under the thumb of a cruel grandfather, young Caroline Brady has little to hope for in her life in the foreboding Southerland mansion. Her only companion, her enigmatic cousin, Simon, may be a wolf in sheep's clothing and is not to be trusted. But when Caroline's estranged father suddenly resurfaces with news of a new wife and stepchildren in Hawaii that she'll finally be allowed...

An unhappy and overweight adolescent, April Taylor struggles to cope with the desertion and death of her father, the suicide of her mother, her new life with her lesbian sister, and her doubts about her own sexual orientation.