Sam Tyler is a feisty 14 year-old girl who lives in a seaside town, and becomes rebellious after the death of her father. Her mother has remarried and Sam conflicts with her stepfather, Max. When a classmate, Zoran Cepnic, is abducted, Sam forms a committee to find him, and the entire school is fired-up to help. Her stepfather helps Sam and their relationship blossoms.

Sam does some investigations of her own, wags school to visit Zoran's parents, and sneaks out at night and finds Zoran's watch at a bus stop where he was abducted. Excited, Sam rings the police and forms a good friendship with the leading detective.

Sam is interviewed on national television by a famous broadcaster, Martha Benson. The same day, she is approached by a weird guy on the beach. The next evening, she is also abducted and ends up in an isolated farmhouse with Zoran. He's alive! Sam and Zoran attempt to escape by removing floorboards, but are stopped by their abductor. Will they escape? How will the police find them?