Before 12 is the story of a teenage boy named Jess who lives a pampered lonely life in a small, forested town. Something terrible has happened to him, but no one quite knows how. His friends Ron and Jeffy want to hear some answers.

A month before, Jess and his preening emo pals were talking about the girls they're dating. Jess admits to having an attraction to Rose, an odd and reclusive girl who goes to their school. She's usually found hanging out with the punk girls Niki, Emily and Ele.

Jess goes to meet his date that afternoon. He finds that Rose is out in town doing errands for some Wicca ritual, leaving him to face her parents alone. He soon finds that Roses’ parents Mary and Patty are strict feminist lesbians.

After some a vicious clash in opinion, and uncomfortable conversation involving the gender, Jess is asked to get some ingredients in the basement for Roses coming of age ritual. Jess finds that things are even farther from normal than he could have imagined and the secrets in Roses home may be deadly. His weakness as the male half of the species is apparent.

In this reversal of the classic Red Riding Hood tale, the themes and metaphors deal with feminism meeting a post-modern, watered down version of manhood. The story deals with the basic power struggles between religion, nature, and the sexes. After all, the weaker sex is relative.

Elements of love, fear, tragedy, parenting and what it means to have your first crush are all tied together into this psychological sucker punch that leads to a shocking finale.