The elite

Casey McCloy arrives in Manhattan from the Midwest and finds the Bramford, her grandmother's building on the Upper East Side, almost too grand to take in. She has been enrolled at Meadowlark Academy, a school where social standing counts for more than anything. Casey quickly learns that Madison Macallister, a blonde classmate who lives in the same building, rules the school's social scene. Madison is admired by everyone and could ruin someone's reputation with a single well-placed rumor, so Casey decides it's safest to befriend her and her circle of glamorous friends from the start.

Madison soon takes charge of Casey's image. After a sophisticated city makeover, Casey dresses the part, says the right things, and mingles with the right people. Among them is Drew, a boy the whole city seems to know, whom Madison considers hers alone. Casey's rise into the in-crowd comes with a cost, and she must decide how much of herself she is willing to trade away to belong.