Noah and Walt fail to make the baseball team again; Walt declares he will now go by the name Swing.

Sam asks Noah to help her shop for a prom dress while Walt/Swing waits for Noah to meet Floyd.

Noah, Walt/Swing, and Floyd meet at Dairy Queen, where Floyd gives Noah cryptic advice about pursuing Sam.

Noah's parents present him with his grandmother's refurbished truck before departing for a conference in Barcelona.

Noah, Walt/Swing, Sam, and Cruz visit a secondhand store; Noah buys an expensive Louis Vuitton purse for his mom.

Noah discovers five handwritten love letters from a man named Corinthian to a woman named Annemarie hidden inside the purse.

Without telling Noah, Walt/Swing gives Sam the artwork Noah created, presenting it as a gift from a secret admirer.

Noah confronts Walt/Swing angrily after learning he gave the artwork to Sam without permission.

Cruz seizes the microphone at the party and falsely claims to be Sam's secret admirer; Noah contradicts him with new artwork.

A partygoer named Junior Wilson leaps from a balcony and is injured, prompting Noah to call an ambulance.

Walt/Swing's brother Mo arrives at Noah's house, having returned from military service in Afghanistan.

Sam comes to Noah's house after the party and the two hold hands and listen to jazz together in his room.

Walt/Swing is named a substitute on the baseball team to replace the injured Junior Wilson.

Walt/Swing runs toward his brother Mo on a baseball field and is shot by police officers.

Walt/Swing makes Noah promise to live life to the fullest and then dies in the hospital.

The novel follows Noah and Walt, two high school juniors who have repeatedly failed to make their school's baseball team, with Walt refusing to give up while Noah steps away. Walt renames himself Swing and pushes Noah to pursue his feelings for their mutual friend Sam, which Noah eventually does through secret multimedia artwork. At a party hosted during Noah's parents' absence, Noah publicly claims authorship of the artwork against a false rival boast, beginning a brief romance with Sam. Walt/Swing finally earns a coveted spot on the baseball team, and a relationship blossoms with a jazz-loving thrift store clerk named Divya. The novel ends tragically when police shoot Walt/Swing as he tries to shield his traumatized veteran brother Mo from harm. Walt/Swing dies in the hospital after making Noah promise to live life to the fullest.

The essential story of friendship, love, and loss.

Walt/Swing plays jazz records for Noah and explains his passion for the music and his new nickname.

Walt/Swing reveals his new Hug Life tattoo to Noah before the two head to Dairy Queen to meet Floyd.

Noah's parents remind him he has forgotten his mother's birthday and review the house rules before leaving for Barcelona.

Noah watches Walt/Swing practice hitting at a batting cage, supporting his friend's dream despite doubting his talent.

The school enters lockdown after someone wraps a large American flag around a tree on school grounds.

Noah shares Corinthian's love letters with Walt/Swing, who speculates that the couple may have faced racial barriers.

Walt/Swing returns to the thrift store, where Divya gives him a Miles Davis album and her phone number.

Walt/Swing invites Divya to the upcoming party at Noah's house.

A new piece of art Noah hid under Sam's desk is found by another student and mocked by classmates.

Walt/Swing's uncle's band performs at the party, and people Noah does not know fill the house.

Police at the party detain Cruz for allegedly placing a flag on a vehicle; Sam accuses them of targeting him for being Black.

Noah tells Sam at Walt/Swing's baseball game that Walt/Swing secretly gave her the initial artwork without Noah's knowledge.

Noah arrives at Sam's house to find Cruz answering the door and drives away without going inside.

Sam asks Noah and Walt/Swing to pull over at a red light so she can talk about their uncertain friendship.

Noah is woken at 3am by a call from Walt/Swing saying Noah's truck has broken down after prom.

Beyond the headline events, the novel is filled with smaller scenes that deepen its characters and tensions. Walt/Swing's love of jazz and his outlandish personality are revealed through moments like his Hug Life tattoo and his instant attraction to Divya at the thrift store. The mystery of the American flags escalates from a school lockdown to police racially profiling Cruz at the party's end. Noah's friendship with Sam weathers the truth about his secret artwork, Sam's reunion with Cruz, and an awkward red-light conversation about whether their friendship can survive. The story's final hours arrive when Walt/Swing's prom night ends with a 3am breakdown call, setting the tragedy in motion.

The supporting moments that build the world of the story.

Noah decides to stop trying out for the baseball team, convinced that neither he nor Walt has the necessary talent.

Sam insists she and Noah sit in protest rather than stand for the national anthem at Cruz's baseball scrimmage.

Floyd challenges Noah to stop describing Sam in clichés and rephrases Noah's feelings in more unusual, striking language.

Walt/Swing meets Divya, the jazz-loving thrift store clerk, and immediately falls in love with her.

Walt/Swing reads Corinthian's letters and persuades Noah that they can inspire him to confess his feelings to Sam.

Inspired by Corinthian's letters and jazz music, Noah creates a multimedia artwork to express his feelings for Sam.

Sam shows Noah a piece of artwork she received from a mystery admirer, not knowing Noah created it.

Sam admits to Noah that she hopes she truly has a secret admirer, exciting Noah to create more artwork for her.

Noah deliberately gives Cruz bad romantic advice, suggesting he take Sam to McDonald's knowing she dislikes the food.

Sam confides in Noah that her parents' divorce taught her to distrust men, making her hesitant in relationships.

Floyd takes Noah's truck keys and refuses to return them until Noah reveals he is Sam's secret admirer.

Divya gives Noah a Dexter Gordon record at the thrift store to help spark his creative inspiration.

Walt/Swing gives Noah a piece of artwork Sam created as a homage to Noah's letters to her.

Sam asks Noah to drive her home after their Olive Garden date and tells him she wants to move slowly.

Noah is taken to the police station and questioned about the shooting before being allowed to visit Walt/Swing.

The novel's most pivotal moments are its turning points: Noah abandoning baseball, Sam's quiet act of protest at a scrimmage, and Floyd's challenge to Noah to describe Sam honestly. Walt/Swing's discovery of Divya and Noah's creative awakening through Corinthian's letters both unlock new passions and possibilities. Noah's growth from passive observer to active pursuer is traced through his sabotage of Cruz, Sam's confession about her distrust of men, and Floyd's ultimatum that Noah finally reveal himself as the secret admirer. Sam's gift of homage artwork and her request to slow the relationship down reveal how deeply the two friends value their bond even as romance complicates it. The pool closes with Noah at a police station—alone, grieving, and forever changed by Walt/Swing's death.