Ninth-grader Darrell Mercer and his mother move to the Bluford area in the middle of the school year where, Darrell quickly becomes a target for Tyray Hobbs, the freshman class bully.

At Bluford High, Darcy Wills and Brisana Meeks, who used to be friends, become bitter rivals, especially when Darcy finds out the Brisana wants her boyfriend.

When Roylin Bailey falls in love with a new girl in his history class, he finds that his life starts to fall apart.

Darcy's distress over her boyfriend Hakeem's move to Detroit, her grandmother's increasing frailness, and other changes in her life, leads her to make a big error in judgment when she becomes involved with the brother of a young woman who is employing Darcy as a babysitter.