Larry, a 16-year-old Tlicho Indian, lives in the small northern town of Fort Simmer. He has a crush on his classmate, Juliet Hope. Larry's past holds a variety of terrors—his father is abusive and he once had an accident that nearly killed him. When Johnny Beck , a young Métis from Hay River, moves to town, things heat up, for better or worse.

Set in contemporary Athens, Maya and Samar tells the story of two young women from conflicting cultures whose brief yet torrid affair endangers the life of one, while propelling the other to instant online fame.