Breanna Montague, a hard working and resilient 17-year-old girl who does her best as she tries to support herself and her younger sister during her mother's prolonged absences, finds herself falling in love for the first time - with her teacher's daughter, Rose, who has been recruited to tutor her.

The girls come from very different families, or lack thereof in Breanna's case. Breanna must work full-time, as her drug addicted mother struggles to understand the concept of being a mother. When she does come home, she is high and almost always with a new "boyfriend". While not even of legal age yet, Breanna plays the role of mother and older sister. With no other family to help, and not wanting to put herself and her sister into the system, she faced with two options - give up or step up. She steps up to help pay half of the rent, her mother's often forgotten bills, and other basic expenses so she and her fourteen year old sister, Harley, can live comfortably. While working and working to finish high school, she also must do her best to raise her sister and keep her out of trouble.

Rose, a sweet girl who is often misunderstood, comes from money. Her mother a teacher, her father a lawyer, and an abundance of inherited money before them, she is able to live quite comfortably. She struggles, especially with her mother, who tries so mercilessly to mold her into a version of herself. She requires her daughter to do many school activities, even some that she has no interest in, to keep up her college resumé. Her mother is in a fantasy world of molding Rose so much that she is completely oblivious to her pain, and will not allow Rose to pursue her true dream of cosmetology, as it is not a "real job".

The young couple additionally must overcome problems with Rose's abusive ex-boyfriend, her catty friends, and problems from Breanna's home life. Will the young couple be able to last, despite the obstacles set out to make them fail?