После внезапной смерти своего отца девочка-подросток Джои Джавиттс переезжает в Портленд к бабушке и дедушке. Она знакомится с Виктором — ровесником, который увлечен культурой готов. Джои тоже присоединяется к местной готической субкультуре, переодевается в черное и вливается в компанию любителей загробной романтики. Вместе с новыми друзьями Джои пытается пережить свое горе и найти свою собственную идентичность.
Dawn is ready to finish her senior year of high school when her neglectful, party-loving mother is tragically killed, forcing Dawn to go to live with her aunt Jamie who co-pastors a church with her husband, Willem. Unfortunately, not long into her stay things go terribly wrong, and Dawn runs away. When Dawn's Aunt Jamie realizes her home was not the safe-haven she thought it was, she embarks on a courageous search for Dawn. Dawn, having no foreknowledge of the streets, is easy prey for a two-bit street hustler, falling for his well-rehearsed flattery. She is lured into a life she could never have imagined for herself. Jamie learns of her predicament and becomes more determined than ever to rescue her, despite Dawn's desire to distance herself. Anxiously Jamie befriends a street minister, and the two of them set out together to find Dawn. However, in her search for Dawn, Jamie realizes it is not only Dawn who needs rescuing.
