Everything happens for a reason.

Rainey Collins has heard this a thousand times, but when it comes to her sister Maverick, who was born with a serious heart defect, the reason has always been a mystery. The idea of a future without her sister terrifies Rainey so much, she hasn't even thought about life after high school. However, on the first day of senior year, Rainey winds up sitting next to Liam Hayes, a rumored delinquent with a dangerously dysfunctional family. Convinced that people shouldn't be judged by their relatives, or by the price tag on their clothes, Rainey slowly begins to breach Liam's defenses and finds herself wondering if some dreams-and some futures-are worth the risk.

With his dad in prison and his stepdad drinking away what little money they have, Liam Hayes feels like the dirt under the designer shoes of every rich kid at Springbank High, but no matter how much he wants to escape, he can't-not without abandoning his mom. Resigned to living in a hellish purgatory, Liam finds himself drawn to Rainey, a girl whose shy smiles and naive goodwill inspire a small flame of hope in his otherwise grim world. But what will she think when she learns the truth about him, and how can their relationship last when everything good in Liam's life has always disappeared?