After getting kicked out of college for the semester, Val goes back to his hometown and moves in with his single dad, where he sets himself two goals: write the next great American novel and get his high school girlfriend back. But after Val’s friend suddenly dies and his 12-year-old brother Charlie comes to live with him and his dad, Val quickly realizes that he has to grow up fast so that Charlie doesn’t have to.
Charlie still has hope and is adamant in caring for her mother, Yolonda Thomas, as her health takes a turn for the worse. Loyal, she insists on sticking by her mother’s side until the very end. But when her school begins to notice Charlie’s absence, she is placed under a system of surveillance and Charlie will soon come to find that some decisions are outside of her control.