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.