Jeffrey Quillon, 17, is a rich kid trying to cope with losing his beloved mother a few years back to a mysterious illness now called Crystal Quillon Syndrome, after his mother. In addition to this, he is dealing with his father, Stanley Quillon, quickly remarrying a much younger woman, Tara, whom Jeffrey believes is not exactly all that she appears to be. Theresa Gryers, 17, is a poor girl trying desperately to do right by her mother, Marva, which seems more and more impossible each day. She is also still adjusting to life without her adored father, Alonzo Drett, who left abruptly after the birth of her now five year old sister, Susan Gryers. When Jeffrey and Theresa meet, it is anything but love a first sight, then a misunderstanding from their English teacher pairs them together for a project essential to passing the class, and graduating from Aston High School in Virginia. The assignment is to rewrite the ending of a love story, in which the happy couple breaks up, and go their separate ways.