How to survive Califorina's hottest surf spot: Never go anywhere without a bathing suit. Never cut your hair. Never let them see you panic.The year is 1972. Fifteen-year-old Haunani “Nani" Grace Nuuhiwa is transplanted from her home in Hawaii to Santa Monica, California after her father's fatal heart attack. Now the proverbial fish-out-of-water, Nani struggles to adjust to her new life with her alcoholic white (haole) mother and the lineup of mean girls who rule State Beach.Following “The Rules"—an unspoken list of dos and don'ts—Nani makes contact with Rox, the leader of the lineup. Through a harrowing series of initiations, Nani not only gets accepted into the lineup, she gains the attention of surf god, Nigel McBride. But maintaining stardom is harder than achieving it. Nani is keeping several secrets that, if revealed, could ruin everything she's worked so hard to achieve. Secret #1: She's stolen her dad's ashes and hidden them...

The year is 1973, and Nani is firmly established as one of the top girls in the State Beach lineup. She's looking forward to a long, relaxing summer of days spent in the sun with her surfer boyfriend, and to secret nights with Rox, the lineup's queen supreme.But when surf god Nigel breaks her heart, and Rox reveals a secret that tears their friendship—and the lineup—apart, Nani is left to pick up the pieces. If she can't recruit new Honey Girls to the lineup, the friends will lose their reputation as the beach's top babes. With the summer spiraling out of control, Nani starts to question everything she's always believed about how to rule the beach. Maybe it's time to leave the rules behind, starting with the most important one: Girls don't surf.