Five years ago, pretty and popular Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who later killed himself. Pip, now a high school senior, still sees how the event haunts her town. For her final project, she decides to reexamine the case, convinced that there's something more to the story. As she follows a trail of clues, she can't help but feel like the past and the present are blurring together. Someone in town doesn't want Pip digging for answers. But who?

In Peaches, California, drought has caused the once bountiful land to become dry and barren. The town has turned to a cult leader named Pastor Vern in hopes that his guidance, and the "assignments" he sends the townspeople on, will bring rain. At fourteen, Lacey May has no reason for doubt until her mother is exiled from the community. Lacey is distraught, and eventually decides that she herself must go on a quest to reunite with her mother.