Twelve-year-old Charlie's verbally abusive and hot-tempered stepdad will be home right after his 3-11 shift. She and her mom, along with their cat, George, flee the house one night before he returns. Coping with her mom's anxiety and her own torn feelings of leaving her best friend, Jessica, they drive to Random, Missouri. There, they stay with an old college friend of her mom's and her thirteen-year-old twin boys. As luck would have it, Charlie and one of the boys take an instant dislike to each other, while the other brother ignores her. Life is a struggle in Random as Charlie is forced to confront new problems and one from the past who has just arrived.
