To avoid his alcoholic mother's problems, Nick, seventeen, stays with his aunt's family near the Oregon coast, where he works at his uncle's car wash and falls into a complicated relationship.

Nick's mom is a distinguished professor, a bestselling author... and a serious alcoholic. To get a break from his stressful home life before senior year, he heads for a summer in Seaside, Oregon, a sleepy beach town where he can chill out, meet girls, and work at his uncle's car wash. There he meets Phoebe Garnet-- funny, sexy, but dangerously self-destructive. Will Nick survive his obsession with Phoebe? And who can he turn to for help?