The novel is set in a remote school hidden deep within a dense forest, where students undergo rigorous training encompassing the arts of deception, historical analysis, and the methods of assassination and toxicology. Their ultimate goal is to become professional killers, consultants, spies, or master impersonators. The story centers on November Adley, who finds herself in an alien environment where friends are few and most students are locked in a fierce struggle for dominance. When one of the students is murdered, all eyes turn toward November; she must race to uncover the truth behind the school's complex strategic game before she is unjustly accused—or before she becomes the killer's next victim.