Cora Davis says her life is garbage, and she means that in a sort of literal-figurative way--her professor parents study what happens to trash after it is thrown away, and her life revolves around their work. Then, the trash spills over into her personal life in a figurative way when she has a fallout with her best friend and then she learns that her parents are separating. However, Cora is about to learn that sometimes things that are tossed out still have value.