Cameron “Cammie” Morgan, the narrator and protagonist of the novel, opens by telling the reader the book is a covert operations report on a mission from the previous school semester. Cammie is 15 years old and a sophomore at Gallagher School for Exceptional Young Women, which is really a school where teenage girls learn to be spies. As the daughter of the headmistress, Cammie returned to school early, and the main story begins on the first day of the previous semester with Cammie watching as her classmates return from break.

Cammie’s specialty is staying unnoticed and has earned the nickname “Chameleon.” From a hiding place in her dorm room, Cammie listens to her classmates tell one another about their travels and adventures over the summer. By contrast, she spent the break visiting her dad’s farm in Nebraska, something she isn’t eager to share. Liz, one of Cammie’s roommates, arrives, and the two head down to dinner, concerned that Bex, their third roommate, isn’t there yet. Liz is sure something terrible happened because “Gallagher Girls are never late” (7).

At dinner, another sophomore comes to Cammie and Liz’s table in a panic because their old Covert Operations professor has been replaced.