Trixie "Sixteen" McQueen is holed up in a New York City subway tunnel, when she overhears a couple of gangsters discussing a big deal that's about to go down in South Florida. Stowing away on their plane, she soon finds herself in the Everglades and on the run from criminals and alligators. But things begin to look up when she is rescued and befriended by a group of very odd characters who really, really, don't like criminals in their neck of the woods. Together with her new friends Jumpy Jim, Big Ned Briscoe, Burundi, Smelly, the indescribable Senor Skin, and the beautiful and mysterious Raven-her immediate crush, Sixteen faces danger and swamp warfare, but also begins to unravel the complexities of troubled relationships. Who knew that life in a swamp could hold the secrets of friendship and the delightful bliss of a teen in love?