Seventeen-year-old Sticky lives to play basketball at school and at Lincoln Rec Center in Los Angeles and is headed for the pros, but he is unaware of the many dangers--including his own past--that threaten his dream.
After a judge sentences Miguel to spend a year in a group home and write in a journal, he makes plans to escape the youth detention center and go to Mexico, where he can put his past behind him.
Danny, who is tall and skinny but has a talent for pitching a fastball, cannot seem to fit in at school in San Diego, where his Mexican and white heritage causes people to judge him before he even speaks.
Kidd, unhappy with his life in a group home and job at the beach, learns lessons about identity, love, and friendship through his relationships with Olivia, a rich girl from Cardiff, and Devon, a mysterious teen driven by a death wish.
While orphan Kidd struggles for a sense of belonging, he falls in love with the wealthy and secretive Olivia. Devon, however, is less than satisfied with this turn of events and so vows to destroy Kidd's fleeting happiness by revealing painful truths.