When fourteen-year-old Elliot Sutton arrives at HolminsterHigh, he's determined not to stand out. He simply can't let himself become a target again—not like he was at his last school. This time, he's a new Elliot. Tough. Impenetrable. But then he meets the Guardians, a group of upperclassmen that secretly rule Holminster with a quiet and anonymous terror. Obsessed with George Orwell's book 1984, they desire power for the sake of power—and they always get what they want. Now, they want Elliot. Not to terrorize . . . but to join them. Can Elliot face his new future, or will he become his own worst nightmare?