When 17-year-old Ethan Whitley leaves his home in California for Berkley Academy, a prestigious Massachusetts boarding school, he's a shy follower of rules in search of himself. Ethan is given the chance to start over when he is hand-picked by his wealthy, disaffected classmate Todd, and Hannah, a seductive, enigmatic teacher. Ethan finds himself pulled deep into the undertow of Hannah's past and Todd's longings and learns that every deceit has a price, every secret an ugly truth and that those he has come to trust are people he doesn't know at all.