During the Spring of 2009 in the burnout timber town of Aberdeen, Washington, seventeen-year-old wallflower Jeremy Sweet, his friends, and their families discover that befriending someone with mental illness is a labyrinthine journey. That friend is Malachi "Loud" McCrowley. Native American, homeless, and haunted by the mysterious logging death of his white father, Loud claims he communicates with the ghosts of Kurt Cobain and other tragically misunderstood misfits of Aberdeen.

Jeremy was drawn to Loud because of their similar tastes in punk music and progressive ideas. But Loud's claims about the ghosts have Jeremy on edge; he also has his opinions on Loud's relationship with intrepid tomboy-turned-heartthrob, Aurora Lee Loftner, Jeremy's unrequited love interest.

Along their quixotic and hormone-fueled effort to intervene in Loud's dizzying decline, Jeremy and Aurora form unexpected alliances with their parents and Loud's estranged Native American mom and together, they reframe what it means to help someone.