Jill is part of the popular girls clique and an aspiring actor. Sheik is the new kid, a transfer from another school where he was reputedly expelled. From different backgrounds and in very different social strata in the high school eco-system, Jill and Sheik fall in love. Their romance is reluctant at first, volatile, but ultimately, it is a defining marker in their young lives. As they split apart after graduation, they both rudely discover what it is to go from big fish in a small pond to small fish in the wider world. They both struggle in their respective post high school lives, clinging to their common bond as life-rafts for each other's buffeted lives. They're reunited several times, and learn the limitations of young love, first love, and platonic friendship.