Hoping to escape the drama back home, twenty-something Ophelia arrives by elevated train in a densely packed neighborhood of a nameless Midwestern city. Jilted by a girlfriend, she walks to a nearby park on the lake ? Hollywood Beach ? where crowds of unsupervised kids and gay men pack up for the evening and leave her alone. Ophelia walks out on the pier, nervous because she cannot swim. As she shotguns the rest of her beers and reflects on the many catastrophes of her life. On the horizon, a massive shark, miles long, surfaces. As Ophelia stares, the creature dives, sending out huge waves that drench her. And change her life.

Ophelia is drawn into a crowd of artistic post-college kids in the apartment building. And while she finds them charming and clueless, through them, she can forget her past. The most intriguing of her neighbors is another newcomer named Clyde, whose energy is infectious. When they return to the beach, Clyde invites Ophelia to move in with her until they find her a job. Ophelia agrees, and they kiss. But while Ophelia is happy to enjoy everyday life in the City, she soon realizes that Clyde and her other friends are restless and antsy, wanting to move out into the world and try new things.

While the gigantic shark lurks in the lake's waters, Ophelia struggles to navigate life. Will she ever learn to swim?