The first-person narrator, Emma, has just moved away from home to start college in LA. Emma's roommate, Addy, wears high heels and lives in an open relationship with certain precautions. The friendship shakes Emma's self-perception and appearance. So do the nine fellow students in the course: Psychology of (Ir)Rational Decisions, where the teacher Mr. Thomas makes them discuss the course topics in relation to their own lives, attitudes and prejudices. Emma falls in love with the somewhat older fellow student Gabriel (Gabe) and uses him to develop her sexuality. A stormy infatuation, which is far from uncomplicated, however.