At the elite girls' boarding school Perpetual Mercy, status is everything-and only the ruthless survive. Fifteen-year-old Ari Worthington arrives expecting prestige and a fresh start. Instead, she finds a world ruled by secrets, shifting loyalties, and a ruthless hierarchy where every move is watched-and every mistake is punished. Her roommate, Bentley "Jess" Jessup, is magnetic, unpredictable, and impossible to escape. Drawn into a web of whispered dares and dangerous games, Ari is pulled deeper into a world where nothing is what it seems-and no one escapes unscathed. At Perpetual Mercy, survival comes at a cost.