Molly, her brother, Slats, and his pal, Oliver, are taxi dancers at the Miramar Ballroom. As a publicity stunt, Slats plants an article about Molly claiming her ambition is to earn enough money to attend staid, all-girl Bixby College. Bixby's progressive dean offers Molly a scholarship. Molly accepts on the condition that Slats and Oliver come along too as campus caretakers. But the pompous Chairman threatens to foreclose on the school's mortgage if Molly isn't expelled. Together, the trio, with the help of some new friends, concocts a scheme to raise enough money to save the school. The plan involves a bet on the Bixby basketball team, which is playing in a game rated at 20 to 1 by the local bookie. But the bookie has other plans for their dough and hires a group of ringers to step in for the opponents. All is not lost, at least while Oliver has the chance to turn things around for his friends-one way or another.

A police sergeant is hoping for a few quiet weeks before his impending retirement, but his plans are scuppered when he is joined by an over-enthusiastic rookie partner who is assigned to him after failing her field test. To make matters worse, trouble looms when a group of white supremacists hold up a local shopping centre.

Haunted by memories of his ex-girlfriend Alice, a heartbroken Billy returns home to Northern Virginia seeking solace from old friends. But what he finds there is more disconcerting: his best friend Stanley has become unstable, mysterious and withdrawn from those around him. Billy teams up with another old friend to find out what's going on and as they probe Stanley's recent activities, their friend's behaviour seems more and more bizarre and frightening.

As an entire town tries to forget a night of mysterious murders, Rachel delves deeper into the case uncovering secrets and unknown motives. Despite her attempts, a detective tries to dissuade her off of the case.