Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter lives in a poor neighborhood but attends a prestigious private school. The fragile bridge between her two lives collapses when, before Starr's eyes, a police officer kills Khalil, her childhood friend. Khalil's death soon becomes a national sensation: some call him a gangster and drug dealer, while others organize marches in his honor. The police and the local drug lord threaten Starr and her family. Everyone wants to know one thing: what really happened that night? Starr is the only one who knows the answer, and now not only her own life but the destinies of others rest in her hands.