Cass moves from city to city, school to school, place to place, because he and his family can't seem to stay in one area without being forced to leave because of the trouble Cass causes. Finally they reach Elm City, South Dakota; which is were the story begins. Cass grew up around a painful, harsh, and cruel environment that just about no-one knows about, he tends to keep to himself until a girl comes into his life. Cass also has a secret life, a life not even his family knows about, a life he doesn't even know about