Amidst the social confines of the 1980s, a naïve Jewish teen's perfect world unravels when he falls for a complicated Black girl, sending them both on a journey of self-discovery, acceptance, and profound change.

SYNOPSIS:

(Naive) Boy Meets (Hardened) Girl

At the start of 1987, Jack Heitner (17, White) is precisely who everyone expects him to be -- the perfect son with the perfect girl Hannah (16) and a perfect future. He’s tightly wound, naïve, and terrified to color outside the lines. His sole “vice”? A part-time job at Record Revolution, the music store where he loses himself in rock of the ‘60s and ‘70s -- a connection to his older brother Max, Jack’s polar opposite, who died in a drug-fueled car wreck five years before.

Meanwhile, Traci Reed (18, Black) isn’t sure who she’s supposed to be. She’s just trying to get her feet set after her father was killed during a kitchen table Blackjack game and her unstable mother sent her away from Camden to live with wealthy relatives in the Philly suburbs, minutes from Jack’s humble blue-collar neighborhood. She exudes intelligence and bravado, but doubts her potential and struggles with trust after years of letdown.

The two have precious little in common except for one thing -- loss. But when she dashes into the store seeking a Nina Simone album, they connect! She teases and prods Jack, fascinated by this innocent kid who hides behind an encyclopedic knowledge of music. And he’s beguiled by Traci -- blunt, rebellious, and willing to call him on his crap about having life all figured out.

After a few encounters, she pushes for a friendship, but Jack declines, infuriating her. He fears the reaction of his traditional Jewish parents -- not racists exactly, but certainly not ready for Jack to strike up a friendship with a girl who’s not only Gentile, but also Black. They’ve suffered enough turmoil since Max’s death, so it’s his job to take care of them….

(Shaken) Boy Falls For (Softening) Girl

…until a string of shocking discoveries (His parents are splitting! His best friend’s gay and never told him!) leave him feeling betrayed and confused. In need of a connection the idealistic Hannah can’t provide, he crawls back to Traci, wary from his earlier rejection but yearning for someone to see her with fresh, unbiased eyes.

So they begin to meet, always after dark, hidden away from judgmental eyes. They share laughs and the music they love. He tells the truth of his brother’s death, which he’d never told anyone. She takes him to see her “dead” mother, in reality a broken woman living on the streets of Camden who Traci supplies with cash from her own part-time job. He urges her to look in the mirror and recognize her true worth. She urges him to take risks like a normal teen. And one night, they kiss. The next night, too. And again. He maintains appearances with Hannah, the girl he's supposed to love, but Jack and Traci are falling hard, fast, no one stopping this train…

(Regretful) Boy Devastates (Furious) Girl

…except Jack’s melodramatic mother, who one afternoon keels over in their kitchen and onto a hospital bed. Her heart? Stress? The doctors don’t know. But Jack does. He’d strayed, she’d sensed it (as Jewish mothers do), and now look. It was all his fault. Who does he think he is trying to be someone he’s not?

Pummeled with guilt, he ends it with a stunned Traci and plans to tell Hannah everything, but when he runs into Traci flirting with another guy at a party, he panics, claims he’s single, and they have sex, his first time. Hannah catches them, though, and both girls cast him out, sick of his lies. Several lonely weeks later, Traci finally calls, not to reconcile, but to drop a bomb…

(Terrified) Boy Consults (Dead-ish) Brother, Accepts True Self With (Emboldened) Girl

…she’s pregnant.

Unable to face such a calamity, he considers running away, but first stops at the cemetery for advice from Max, all long-haired ‘70s cool now walking and talking again, at least in Jack’s mind. After they air out long-simmering resentments, Max convinces Jack to stay and face the music.

So Jack joins Traci to tell their families, stands by her side at an abortion clinic and takes her to “meet” Max, who remains underground this time but would’ve dug this girl who finally recognizes her own beauty inside and out and his little brother, who at long last accepts who he really is, not who everyone told him he had to be.