It was never easy for Cassie and her mother, struggling to make ends meet in their tiny apartment in the Bronx, but they had each other and that was enough. When her mother dies suddenly from an aggressive form of cancer, Cassie is forced to finish high school in California while living with a wealthy family friend of her mother's-a woman she never knew existed. Living with the Stanton's is the complete opposite of what she's used to-the massive house, a traditional family unit, and Cody, the spoiled, insanely good-looking son with the bedroom across the hall. Broken with grief and struggling to fit in, Cassie has to cope with her mother's hidden past, the overwhelming present, and an encounter no one should have to endure-a nightmare she thought was over.