Ambitious high school senior Samantha Hodges is a serious journalist, both for the school paper and for the yearbook, but she's just as serious about her friends, Nate, Gillian, and Rudy, all of whom are vying with her for a full-ride local scholarship to college. Very close to her mother, Emily, who is the school's guidance counselor, Samantha finds her reporting taking an investigative turn when two of her classmates--and contenders for the scholarship--are murdered.

Wealthy in her own way, Renee is happily married to the apparently successful architect Charles until a teen named Andrew, who claims to be Charles' son, shows up on their doorstep. Charles seems suspicious of the teen, but Reene and their daughter Amy are ready to welcome him with open arms -- until they both realize that Andrew who's real name is Owen is a sociopath with an old grudge and a penchant for murder.