Jennifer Beckett, a wealthy alumna of Harrington High School, returns to her alma mater to introduce a new scholarship competition worth $500,000. Each phase of the competition includes clues, riddles, and various tasks. Included in the Beckett Scholarship Competition are a comedy podcast about death, time dilation, Billy Joel, Harry Potter, and the Lascaux cave paintings.

Alex, Peyton, and Cameron, three best friends with complex backgrounds, decide to enter, assuming it will be a fun, safe experience. They don't realize the extreme measures some people would take to win the scholarship until their lives are at risk. Alex, whose gender stays in question until the end of the story, is disturbed by American society. The competition is another example of the unjust world we have created. Peyton uses a quirky sense of humor to hide the truth about her painful past. Cameron tries to forget about his disturbing, bourgeois family while harboring a secret love for his best friend. They all have their issues. The marginalization of teenage stress, anxiety, and family problems continues to take its toll on each of them. Their conversations offer the joy and laughter needed to tolerate life's troubles. And every minute of every day, Alex's primary struggle is tolerating life.