Nicole Oakley, the troubled daughter of a wealthy congressman, attends public school in the upscale community of Pacific Palisades. As an act of defiance, she makes a play for the attentions of Carlos Nunez, a determined, straight-A student who endures a two-hour bus ride each morning from east LA to attend the more prestigious school in Nicole's exclusive suburb. While her friends and family profess doom for their relationship, her rebellious flirtation soon develops into true romance. However, Nicole's self-destructive tendencies threaten Carlos' ambitions, leading to an emotional and climactic confrontation that attests to the power and intensity of first love, and reveals how, in coming together, two young but damaged souls can heal one another.