Seventeen-year-old Thea Galehouse has always known how to take care of herself due to a flighty club-owner mom and a recovering-alcoholic dad. Thea has attended the competitive Stuyvesant High School in her hometown of New York City. But when she meets senior Will, she is completely hooked and can't concentrate on anything else. Will continues to love Thea after he goes to college. But then Thea finds she is pregnant. After the baby is born and a freak accident, Thea finds her dad to be source of comfort despite his past stiff, uncompromising personality.