Colby University, North Carolina. Three rich coeds--Hadley (Meredith Monroe), Sydney (Dominique Swain), and Julianne (Rachel True)--befriend scholarship student Alicia (Mia Kirshner), dress her up, and throw her into their world of drugs, sex, and alcohol. But, they get more than they bargained for--not only can Alicia swim in this pool, but she proves to be one of the sharks. She takes everything--pills, powder, alcohol--dances with their boyfriends, discovers Julianne is bulimic, slips into Hadley's house and wears her clothes and jewelry, and joins the bisexual Sydney in bed. Then, as the college mystery NEW BEST FRIEND opens, Alicia is found in a bathroom, bruised and overdosed on drugs.

Black deputy sheriff Artie Bonner (Taye Diggs) investigates. The dean of the exclusive college pressures Artie--he wants the matter settled quickly and quietly. Artie interviews Hadley, Julianne, and Sydney, and is soon suspicious. Director Zoe Clarke-Williams and scriptwriter Victoria Strouse put the narrative of their twistingly plotted thriller together like a jigsaw, interweaving flashbacks provoked by Artie's questions, with Hadley's recollections of her souring relationship with Alicia, and Alicia's memory flashes as she moves in and out of consciousness on life support in the hospital.