Three months after the scandal that rocked the nation - the suicide of Simon, the teenage son of a California senator - seventeen-year-old Eleanor Ames is left wondering if abandoning her con-artist family for the private school life was worth it. Not only was Simon her date to homecoming, he was also one of the few people at school who didn't seem like a phony. And she can spot a phony a mile away. Just when things are beginning to return to normal, Miles Beckett moves into her apartment building, rides her bus to school, and won't stop asking questions about Simon's death. The thing is...Ellie has questions too. Not only about Simon, but about the new kid who seems to be here for the sole purpose of dredging up a ghost. Can Ellie uncover what happened to Simon without falling in too deep with Miles?