Richard has hung out at the abandoned house in the woods during his summer vacation for as long as he can remember. But this year, he discovers that a family has moved in. The father, J. A. Dalton, is an internationally renowned artist who insists on painting Richard's portrait, while Dalton's wife draws the boy into her circle as though he were one of the family's bohemian adult friends. But it is their beautiful daughter, Clio, with whom Richard becomes obsessed. Soon he finds ways to spend days-and nights-with Clio, all the while struggling to understand and fit in with her eccentric clan. How can he know that some mysteries are best left unsolved-and that the passions of a single summer will change his life forever?