Neil Derrick, a troubled High School teen, moves from the city to the small town of Blackwater, Florida with his hardworking mom. He strikes up a friendship with the Sheriff's daughter, geeky loner Cecily, but also falls for local beauty Evangeline. When Evangeline's body is found down by the river, brutally murdered, everybody thinks the new kid is to blame, including the overzealous Sheriff who sets out to prove Neil's guilt. But Cecily is convinced Neil is innocent, so she teams up with Neil to solve the murder and unmask the real culprit. In the process they uncover some sordid town secrets. But as the Sheriff digs into Neil's past it turns out he may not be as innocent as he seems.