After his friend is murdered, a Washington, D.C. teenager undertakes his own investigation of the crime.

18-year-old Addison Schacht, a Jewish high-school senior in Washington D.C., responds to the essay question, "What are your best and worst qualities?". He explains he has only bad qualities, as illustrated by the events of his senior year. They include collecting offensive jokes; dealing drugs to his classmates; and insulting teachers, fellow students, and his girlfriend's mother. But his classmate is killed, and he begins to investigate the death.

In Washington, D.C., the high school senior and old-time dreamer, Addison, is having a difficult time coming to terms with his mother's recent death, while at the same time, he tries to be a normal teenager, with a normal best friend, Phoebe. However, things will take a turn for the worse, when out of the blue and for no obvious reason, their fellow African-American literature student, Kevin, is murdered in broad daylight at the café where he used to work as a barista. Little by little, as the authorities tag the case as "gang-related", Addison will become obsessed with solving the puzzling incident, however, to shed light upon Kevin's death, both Phoebe and Addison will have to dig deep, even if their investigation leads them to the city's dark underbelly. Are they prepared for the truth?—Nick Riganas