Synopsis

Serena, a 12-year old from Los Angeles, is dumped by her movie-star mother at a strict Swiss boarding school in 1962. 6,000 miles from home. Alternately gung-ho and self-doubting, Serena competes against another American, Nick, 13, the top-dog at school. He seesaws between liking Serena and rejecting her for a Spanish coquette, Olivia. Nick bets that he can climb to Olivia's room at night and get a kiss. When he is almost caught, Serena takes the fall for him and is punished. She runs away, but is brought back to school, caned and shamed.

The parallel story of MIRABEL, stemming from Serena’s effect on the teachers, concerns the elegant headmistress Metz’s increasingly desperate need for control and the escapist teacher Bovay getting past a crushing broken engagement to step up and change the culture of the school.

In the spring, when Olivia gets the lead role in the year-end play despite Serena's superior talent, Serena gets Olivia kicked out of school. Torn by guilt, Serena leads Nick and the other kids in a wild scheme to get Olivia back. Nick and Serena are caught and the scheme seems to fail, but the adult fall-out from their rebellion is such that the nature of the school is transformed. Metz loses her storied self-control, Bovay replaces Metz as headmistress, Olivia returns to school, and Nick and Serena, once rivals, are now more than friends.