Traumatized by the death of a close friend before the start of eighth grade, Meryl Lee's parents decide to send her to an elite Maine boarding school. Meryl knows nothing of the strict social norms of the school and struggles making friends and pleasing her teachers. She finds an unlikely ally in headmistress Dr. MackKnockater and in a runaway boy named Matt that the headmistress is fostering. Matt has suffered much at the hands of abusers and will need Meryl and Dr. MacKnockater's help if he is to survive their relentless pursuit of him.