The protagonist, Phoebe Zito, moves with her dad to L.A. in her search for a fresh start in high school. She is a geeky, white,
trans 16-year-old girl. She first becomes friends with Ben Wheelock, a geeky outcast at her new school. Phoebe's social life changes when Mackenzie Ishikawa, a popular girl at school, decides to befriend Phoebe and give her a makeover, as well as teach her how she should be a girl. Phoebe goes on dates with Ben and Ethan Rackley, but finds that Ethan has rigid beliefs about appropriate
gender roles and Ben is uncomfortably focused on her transness. Phoebe gradually realizes that her classmates all want her to be someone that she is not, and tries to instead figure out who she wants to be for herself. At the same time, Mackenzie gets a role as Audrey in
Little Shop of Horrors, and learns about herself via relating to the character's struggles. Mackenzie and Phoebe start to become actual friends as they address their personal challenges and mature. == Creation ==