Riley Naught is a high schooler struggling to cope with his fluctuating mental health and recent move to the suburbs of Santa Claria, California. When Riley meets the much older, much more worldly Dean, he thinks his life is changing for the better.
But when Dean abandons the boy after leaving him with a strange new illness, Riley finds himself suddenly entangled in the seedy underworld of his city. With the help of his sister - Alex - and some newfound friends, Riley goes in search of Dean in an attempt to reconcile what was done to him, and to understand his recently acquired and insatiable thirst for blood.