In a letter to the headmaster of her school, Alabaster Prep, the protagonist Frankie Landau-Banks takes responsibility for masterminding the “mal-doings” of the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds. She claims to be the person who issued all instructions, though the members fulfilled them of their own free will. Frankie points out the social criticism behind many of the Order’s actions and admits that her behavior “disrupted the smooth running of [the school’s] patriarchal establishment” (2). She encourages the administration to take a more positive view of civil disobedience.

During the summer before Frankie’s sophomore year, her body matured, which made her suddenly interesting to boys. Her older sister, Zada, was a senior when Frankie was a freshman; now, Zada attends Berkeley. The narrator notes that Frankie’s physical maturation is not mirrored by her mental development. At the start of Frankie’s sophomore year, she is still childlike, neither ambitious nor particularly unusual.

Just before returning to school, Frankie goes on a vacation with family—including her “vile” pack of male cousins—to the Jersey shore. One day, she asks to walk into town alone, but her mother, Ruth, and her uncles debate whether this will be safe.