Offering adult daycare services to the disabled community of Los Angeles County, Upward Bound is a world of 'old school linoleum, accordion dividers, metal folding chairs, cheesy decorations hung for whatever holiday just passed' - a place of last resort for its many clients and staff.

Among the group are Carlos, a young aide with a difficult upbringing, and Jorge, the gentle giant whom he seeks to befriend; Tom, a beautiful young man with cerebral palsy, who pines for Ann, the lifeguard for the summer; and Mike, the centre's middle-aged director who came to LA to pursue a career in acting but now channels his energies into staging an impressive holiday benefit show. Most riveting of all is the testimony of Walter, a community college graduate who, after a death in his family, is returned to the company of his disabled and sorely underestimated peers.

Unable to pursue their dreams, or in many cases even express them, these characters' daily struggles and occasional victories are illuminated by debut novelist Woody Brown with a heartbreaking and often hilarious clarity. Yet all the time, the group are growing closer to a devastating event that no one could have predicted.