Ten-and-a-half-year-old Kamila “Kami” Hamilton sneaks out at midnight after seeing a flashlight signal from the neighboring house. She descends from her second-floor bedroom via a knotted rope to where Taylor Di Bianco and his older brother, Thiago, are waiting. Thiago mocks her braids, calls her “princess,” and pockets one of her hair ribbons until Taylor steps in to defend her.

The three run to a creek and head for the home of Mr. Robin, a stingy neighbor with a large candy supply. Thiago and Kami slip through a basement window while Taylor stands guard. They fill their backpacks until noise upstairs signals Mr. Robin is awake. They throw the bags to Taylor and tell him to run, but Thiago refuses to boost Kami up to the high window without a kiss in exchange. Initially disgusted, she becomes curious and agrees. They kiss, then flee. The kiss is Kami’s first kiss and marks the trio’s last adventure together.

Eight years later, on August 23, Kami starts her senior year feeling unsettled. She reflects on a strained summer beach trip with her parents: her father, Roger Hamilton, the person she “loved most” in the world, and her mother, Anne, a beauty-obsessed perfectionist she privately calls the “ice queen.