In this absorbing first-person narrative about friendship, love, competing loyalties, and loss, accomplished guitarist, James "Boog" Buglioni, charts the relationship changes with his best friend Theo Stone, charismatic singer in their band "Blues Thing", that happen across their senior year. Theo is swept off his feet by new student, Carey "?" Harrigan, who enters their lives the first day of school dressed like "a walking tag sale." The disruption brought by the enigmatic, creative, but troubled young woman precipitates an unraveling of Boog's and Theo's tight bond. Theo attempts to help Carey shore up her damaged self-image (impacted by the death of her mother at a young age, which sent her science teacher father along an ongoing alcoholic path, dragging his daughter down), but his attempts interfere with the band and his own family relationships, and college plans.