For talented twenty-year-old Remi, home is an abandoned hotel in San Diego. A foster child with a tragic past, her family has become the two boys she looks after like a mother: six-year-old Benny, who’s diabetic and in a wheelchair, and young teen Owen, an emotionally scarred foster-home runaway. The only adult around is Brock, an Irish army vet with PTSD who lives in the hotel lobby and is their protector.

Remi works in a diner by day, but sings on street corners and attracts the attention of Jude, a young music producer with his own troubled past. Mesmerized by her voice, he offers her a contract. Remi seems close to achieving her dream of opening a music academy for youth and keeping her little family together. But in this seedy, dangerous world where gang members rule the streets, nothing can stay the same for long.

Jane C. Brady’s latest novel is a bittersweet tale of what it means to be young, powerless, and want more out of life.