A first boyfriend, loyal friends, a stepfather he could do without, the snakes, frogs and lizards that hang out with a nice guy who wants to be more than friends, and the return of his best friend, who was pulled into a strangers car when they were eight years old and disappeared. No one ever told Jesse that growing up would be easy. When it wasn’t, he was always confident that he could hold his own. But one situation after another reduces even the sturdiest parts of his world to pieces.