Karl Pertofsky is one of those kids where grades come easy, and everyone seems to despise him for it. He is a junior and getting ready for college. One day in school, he notices one of the popular guys cheating in class but says nothing, even after another student is sent to the principal's office after getting caught cheating on an exam.

It is this action that brings Karl into the center of a plot of intrigue because the cool kids, who all seem to be cheating, bring him in on their schemes to ge the grades they need. Karl is doubtful of whether or not he wants to do this until Mr. Klimchock, the upright vice principal who has set in motion means to punish students for cheating with notes on their permanent records. Karl feels the need to stand up for fairness since that is a bit of an overreaction. Of course, it doesn't hurt that one of the hottest girls in school has started flirting with him because of the possibility of his help.

His regular friends feel put off has he gets involved with the new cool friends, and they even warn him of the dangers of what he is doing.

As the story progresses, he is drawn deeper into the cheating underground, which highlights the fact that everyone seems to cheat in the adult world of America. In fact, cheating is highlighted as being the right thing to do.

This was a pretty well-written novel, but I had trouble connecting to the characters because none of them, other than Karl's orginal friends, really have any integrity. This also applies to all of the adult characters. I have a feeling the novel was meant to be satire, but it comes across as a diatribe as to why it is ok to cheat ... and even provides some really good suggestions for kids to use if they want to cheat.