How bad would you be to do the right thing? In the not too distant future, ten-year-old children are tested to determine their genetic predisposition for criminal behavior. The "Bads" are taken from their families and sent to reformation schools meant to counteract the negative effects of their genetics for the benefit of society. It's a new standard for categorizing people and most everyone seems to have bought into it. Fifteen-year-old, Raphael "Izzy" Barnes, believes the test is a total load. For one, he tested "Good." If good means that you routinely skip school to go surfing, drive under the legal age, and act like a typical wayward teenage boy, then yep, he's good all right. Being a Good isn't easy street when Bad is in your blood. Izzy knows that first hand when he falls for Dublin Westerfield, the surfer girl who's had his attention for years and whose family would never let her date someone with his family history.

Since his Bad but beloved father's conviction for murder three years ago, Izzy has questioned his beliefs about goodness and integrity. Now, Izzy's little brother, Beau, has tested Bad. He believes in Beau's goodness and will do almost anything to prevent him from being taken away. Whatever it takes. But his little brother has a terrible secret and once Izzy discovers it, his certainties about right and wrong will be severely tested.