The school year begins with Bill and his friends in pursuit of romance, chess, and recreational fire-a plan that has always worked before-but high school is safe compared to the high-stakes Internet conspiracy that grows ever larger, threatening the stability of their world and a best friend's life. When the protection racket hits high school, no one is safe. Add to that the complications of family relationships where disloyalty destroys, but where an over-arching compulsion for loyalty also wrenches the heart, and the boys have a year to remember - and to survive.