The story takes place from Jiyad Mark Grierson's POV. He’s a new student at the London boarding school where the story takes place (Bakersfield School). Since he had been on the move since early adolescence due to his father’s military status, he had never treated school seriously. When every couple of months you’re uprooted from your life, you gain an apathy for what happens in said life. Nothing he did or experienced seemed to matter at all, so he stopped trying much and ran off doing the things most “rebellious” teenagers did. When he had to settle down in London after his father was discharged due to injury, he gained a new outlook on life and his education. He was going to try hard to make serious, long-lasting friendships and connections and succeed in his classes.

He dormed with the infamous Sherwin Çınar-Mortimer, who he is almost immediately and inextricably drawn to despite the many negative accounts he had already heard about him. One such negative account came from his long-time pen-pal Finn Kamiński, who he is able to reconnect with upon boarding at Bakersfield. In fact, he was only enrolled at Bakersfield due to Kamiński’s own enrollment (as their fathers are friends as well and Kamiński’s father suggested the school). His friend welcomed Jiyad into his social circle, which included Jonah Davies, Ajax Collins-Baccay, Sellen Olsson, Crash Rivers, and Regan Cirillo. They all got along quite well and took nicely to Jiyad.

Jiyad also befriended Aymi Appleby and Ndeye Cordier. Aymi and Ndeye, though especially the latter, were well connected at school, and also a part of Kamiński’s friend group as they're friends with Crash and Ndeye is dating Jonah. The two of them attempt to help Jiyad with learning about the whole "being a teenager" thing that he wasn't well accustomed to. At least, not the studious parts of it, or the friend-making part of it. In turn, he helps Aymi with letting loose and accepting every part of herself, and as a pet project of Ndeye's, she doesn't desire much in return.

Soon, upon further befriending Sherwin, Jiyad was slowly introduced to his roommate’s friends as well. Sherwin didn’t consider them to be his friends, but they hung around each other enough for Jiyad to think so. Victor Bui, Ezekiel Baccay, Mirjet "Porky" Gjonaj, Kasey Lesiuer, and William Appleby were clear candidates for the role of being Sherwin’s friend, though there were other more mysterious candidates that Jiyad couldn’t quite place yet.

Various other students at Bakersfield hold significance, but not all are known to Jiyad. Some individuals pertain more to Sherwin or other characters' lives, and Jiyad only sometimes becomes privy to their stories. This is all to say that while Jiyad is our main character, he is by no means omnipresent or even remotely aware of what's going on around him. He tries his best, though, and the story follows his attempts at doing so.