When her younger brother becomes victim to Ridgeview High's worst group of bullies, Peyton Greene sets out to hire the most feared student in school to protect him. It never occurs to her that the antisocial, two-time senior won't agree to do it, even for the large sum she's willing to pay. Sam Guerra can't afford to pick a fight at school and risk another expulsion, but after witnessing the beginning of a humiliating locker room beat down, he gets involved anyway. Soon more students approach him with offers of money and requests for protection. Having zero interest in becoming anyone's bodyguard, he finds other students willing to take his place for the same fee. A growing list of names rapidly morphs into a reason to approach the pretty geek again, and despite the stark differences in his and Peyton's backgrounds, they begin seeing each other outside of school. But everything changes when Peyton transforms the list into a bodyguard website for a class project. What happens next turns the senior class assignment into a non-profit, nationwide project that will ultimately tear her parents' marriage apart and the town in two as it fuels the hot topic of violence to stop violence in an already divided nation. Her struggle to do the right thing becomes even more complicated when she learns of Sam's dark past and equally violent present-information that could compromise their relationship, her reputation, and the integrity of a successful, anti-violence project she refuses to quit.