Jude Franklin thinks he killed the love of his life, Val Vandecamp. In the weeks after she dies, he goes on a spiral down spin with drinking and staying out late or not coming home at all. He is living at home with his mom and brother. His father was shipped over seas to the war. As if all that was not hard enough, a bombshell dropped when Jude fi nds out that his brother, Joey, is a drug addict. He starts going to Sunset Beach where he and Val fi rst met. Through his problems, he ends up meeting a girl, Wendy Brandsworth, that will not take no for an answer. Through their up and down relationship, he continues to confront his challenges from the past, present and not so bright future. His only friend, Drake, he learns has a dark past that he was not aware of in their so called friendship. While his father is over fi ghting for the country, Jude is fighting a war inside himself.