Adolescent Frankie always spent summers languishing in the midwestern humidity with her best friend, Ocy. Not a care in the world. But this summer is different. Set against a back-to-school science project in which she and Ocy must grow crystals from scratch, Frankie notices her body and her friendship shape-shifting before her eyes.

As she creeps towards teen age, her fears and insecurities manifest in the form of, well, crystals… and crystal-flecked claws that emerge from her wart-blighted hands. The apparitions and aberrations terrify and shame Frankie. The only sanctuary she can seem to find is under the water of her local pool or under the covers with Ocy. Even that proves fleeting though.

Frankie finds the crystal claws and crystal visions encroaching from every angle, beneath the water, too, as she battles with her mother over the necessity of a training bra and her until-now unbreakable bond with Ocy starts to fray.

Desperate to keep her body and her friendship intact despite their undeniable metamorphoses, Frankie fights tirelessly to keep her head above water.