A Neon Darkness

In 2006 Los Angeles, eighteen-year-old Robert arrives alone and determined to reach the ocean. He has a power that makes other people want what he wants, and he has spent his life drifting from place to place without real connection.

In L.A., he meets other people with unusual abilities and is welcomed into their group, finally finding something like friendship and family. But Robert’s need for control and acceptance keeps colliding with the boundaries of the people around him.

When a threatening outsider appears and the group’s safety is put at risk, Robert must confront how much of himself he is willing to change. The story tracks his descent into the person he becomes later, while the friendships, secrets, and power struggles around him intensify.