Sixteen-year-old Junie changes high school in the middle of the academic year, following the death of her mother. She joins a new class that includes her cousin Matthias, who introduces her to his group of friends. Junie is soon courted by the boys in the group and agrees to become the fiancée of the quietest young man, Otto. But soon she falls overwhelmingly in love, with Nemours, her Italian teacher. But their awakening passion is doomed as Junie, not wishing to surrender to her feelings, refuses to give in to happiness, which in her eyes is just an illusion.