Louis Duncan's 1958 young adult classic tells the story of what happens when the debutante tradition comes to one small town: the parties, the ball gowns, as well as one girl's growing sense of right and wrong.

Lynn Chambers is popular, wealthy, and going (almost) steady with a handsome college boy. But when she decides not to be a debutante, Lynn finds herself on the outside, which leads her to a side of her town she barely knew existed. There she meets Anna, an artist overlooked by the debutante crowd, and bad boy Dirk Masters, who has a fast car, a quick temper, and a dark secret involving Lynn.