Laine Hunt barely survived her first semester and everyone knows it. Now she's determined to prove she's a fighter, to secure her place at the front of the class. But what she's fighting the hardest are her own demons and her feelings for a certain lacrosse player. . . .

Parker Cole, the lanky hipster in a purple velvet coat, is fighting demons of her own. She can't forgive Chase Dobbs, the Southern golden boy, for breaking her heart. But when she meets a stranger with a dangerous solution to her problems, will she let Chase get close enough to save her?

The year tests everyone—but the lesson they've all learned is that not everyone will make it to the upper class.