For seventeen years, Alex Podolski has been trapped on Woolf Island, a beautiful but boring chunk of land on the St. Lawrence River. She spent summer waiting on preppy old folks at the mainland's boat club, trying to wish away her puny existence. Now, senior year has just begun and all Alex wants is to graduate unharmed and uninvolved. Having to cope with problems at home--including a father dependent on pain-killers, a grandmother in a coma, and a rebellious younger sister--doesn't make it easy.
Then Alex meets Miller Stott, the anti-social competitive swimmer she usually avoids at school, and everything changes.
But as the spark of their friendship catches fire, a tragic act of violence at school threatens to destroy their relationship, their community, and ultimately their futures. Alex must finally reject apathy, and choose between passion and passivity, or nothing will ever be the same again.