• Luke continues to wrestle with math and the standardized state tests. He takes refuge in his work on the yearbook and his solitary fishing trips. The hostility of his girlfriend's father abruptly ends the most rewarding relationship of his life. He tries to start over.

• Elly is getting along better than ever with her parents, especially her status-conscious mother, because she is dating the star quarterback for the school's football team. But her folks don't seem to care about, or even suspect, the secret damage that this relationship is doing to Elly's body and self-esteem.

• Marcus still loves basketball, but literary classics and American history classes are beginning to open his eyes to life beyond the court. His planned campus visit to the nearby state university leads his father to sit down and have "the talk" with him.

• Mia is still on track to graduate first in her class and pursue her dream of becoming a doctor, but her home life is troubled. Her parents finally reach a breaking point, and Mia finds herself worrying about her mother's prospects and trying to protect her little sisters.

Big games, dances and parties produce moments of happiness and joy. But as the classmates' final year in high school swims into view, with a series of forced choices staring them in the face, they find all of the stakes are getting higher.