Casey Gordon is lean and limber, a 17-year-old senior at Westfield High School. Casey is a bright, energetic, caring girl but she seems to need to be hurt. She injures herself a little too much in track competitions and she always falls in love with real losers. She doesn't really understand the conflicts inside of her and the feelings of unworthiness that set her up to get involved with Paul VanHorn.
Paul is nineteen, and he graduated—under a cloud of scandal—from her high school the year before. Instead of going to college, he does construction work. A mysterious, attractive boy just over six feet and powerfully built, he is well-read, intelligent, and even romantic. He charms Casey and he pays attention to her deepest needs. But he comes from a terrible home—his father is an abusive alcoholic and his mother a submissive, suffering victim.