Joy Grayle starts her freshman year at the Filmore School for Science, forced to abandon her old group of friends. Her father coaxes her to audition for the speech and debate team in order to make new friends. However, the speech and debate team is the holy grail of extracurriculars at her school and it is more competitive than she ever imagined. Meanwhile, her sister Lindsay, has the school wrapped around her finger with the help of the Photography Club.