Gillian Lennox is a petite and shy girl. Gillian is seventeen, but people around her think she is much younger because of her youthful appearance and her diminutive height. Gillian's shyness also makes it very difficult for her to make friends and she only has one friend. However, Gillian dreams of being popular and dating David Blackburn, a very popular boy who lives down the street from her. At the same time, Gillian's home life has become very difficult because her mother has begun having hallucinations that have led her to drink. For this reason, Gillian's father is often leaving the family because he finds it difficult to live with his wife's alcoholism.