Sixteen-year-old Joanna has been living with her overbearing Aunt Martha in a low-income NYC tenement building ever since a violent outburst left her fighting a feeling she can only describe as the "darkness." Little did she know that weeks after moving in, a biological threat from the Soviet Union would leave the building boarded up and the tenants locked inside. It's been one month since they were first sequestered. With food dwindling and Martha's controversial role as leader expanding, Joanna realizes that she must face both her darkness and her aunt in order to save the tenants. But can she take on the leadership without letting the darkness take over her entirely?
A líder de torcida naturalmente talentosa Ava é um sucesso instantâneo em sua nova escola, mas seu rápido aumento de popularidade é ameaçado pela rivalidade entre a capitã de torcida e a rainha do baile Katrina, que coloca Ava e os outros novos recrutas em um processo brutal de iniciação, deixando Ava para enfrentar conseqüências na escola e em casa.
