Although Alexander, a Japanese-American teen living in a small Southern-California beach town, enters his junior year of high school apathetically, he is soon thrust out of this ennui when he begins a secret relationship with Lila, his teacher's daughter, as well as when he befriends a troubled freshman, Kenneth. Things finally seem to be looking up for Alex, all until Kenneth forms reluctant plans to bring a gun to school and Alex must act fast to stop this new friend from doing the unimaginable.

No More Dead Kids is a firebrand call to action regarding the United States' adolescent mental health epidemic and the seemingly endless cycle of school shootings and violence, examining American adolescent life through the eyes of three teenagers discovering love, music, sexuality, and personal identity during a tumultuous and uncertain time both at home and during a cross-country road trip.