Shaun Brumder is a local surfer kid from Orange County who dreams of going to Stanford to become a writer and to get away from his dysfunctional family household. Except Shaun runs into one complication after another, starting when his application is rejected after his dim-witted guidance counselor sends in the wrong form.

One day in 1984, Todd Bowden, a brilliant high school boy fascinated by the history of Nazism, stumbles across an old man whose appearance resembles that of Kurt Dussander, a wanted Nazi war criminal. A month later, Todd decides to knock on his door.

A destitute 14-year-old struggles to keep his life together despite harsh abuse at his mother's hands, harsher abuse at his father's, and a growing separation from his slightly older brother.

When a teenager gets pregnant, her mother feels the baby should be adopted. The girl seeks advice from her school counsellor, but this woman has her own agenda.

When a fatherless 12-year-old boy attempts to put an end to his abuse from his brotherly neighbor, he's later confronted by his own mother about her suspicion next door, and he must quickly decide who he's willing to protect at the end.

A young girl visits the school counsellor.