Like the Gulf of Mexico in her backyard, young Lucy often appears bright and steady. But when her sister drowns on her watch, the riptides of the glossy Gulf lodge in her chest, surging in storms of panic attacks and receding in the darkness of depression and attempted suicide. With only her eccentric father and distant mother left, Lucy clings to Audra, whose friendship and family mean warmth, rich Southern food, and shelter from the abuse Lucy hesitates to recognize.

But just when Lucy needs them most, Audra’s restless father uproots their family to a different state, the next in a growing list of places that Audra can’t ever call home. As the two girls struggle into womanhood, Lucy determines to quell the storm inside her, even if it means shutting herself off from the rest of the world—including Audra. But what would Audra’s life look like without her troubled friend? Can either afford to lose the other?