Terri Fletcher (Hilary Duff) Loves to sing and write her own music, she also loves her brother Paul (Jason Ritter) who has just graduated highschool and is about to set off on his own regardless of what his overbearing father thinks. After being grounded Paul and Terri sneak out and go to a concert by their favorite band, on the way back they are in a car crash and Paul dies. Terri is heartbroken but receives a letter from a music school in LA that tells her she has a place in their summer program. Terri's father(David Keith) adamantly refuses to let her go, so the deception begins. Terri's mother (Rita Wilson) and sister (Rebecca De Mornay) concoct a story that Terri is going to her Aunts when really she is attending the music school. Terri finds it a difficult to overcome her stage fright which is a hang over effect from her car crash and reminds her heavily of her brothers death while she is at music school. Terri also finds out that it was her brother that sent her video to the school and that was what got her an invitation. She meets a boy named Jay (Oliver James) who she becomes romantically involved with, but who also in the end helps her over her stage fright and come to terms with her brothers death. Jay and Terri enter the contest run by the school for a music scholarship for the next year. Terri's father finds out about the music school from Terri's Aunt and heads to LA to bring his daughter home. Terri and her father fight and eventually after seeing his daughter perform her father sees that he can't hold on to her daughter forever and that she has real talent.