Facing criminal charges after a protest, Ella is forced to leave Oakland to live with her estranged father in Johannesburg, South Africa; she arrives at her new elite school and immediately plots her escape back home.

Ella's attempt to flee South Africa causes chaos at school as the administration investigates who was able to escape their campus; Ella must do what she can to cover her tracks, all while trying to keep the mean girls off her back.

Ella strikes a deal with her stepmother Dianne to spy on a classmate in exchange for going back to Oakland; she does whatever she can to get close to a boy she can't stand and tries to pursue another.

Ella finally gets closer to Noko as part of her mission but starts to see a different side of him that makes her question if her stepmother is right about him and his family; Ellla's classmates stire up trouble for her new relationship with Dawoud.

Believing her job as an amateur spy completed, Ella pushes Dianne to honor their deal and arrange for her to return home to California; Dianne tells her the work Ella has been helping with is not done yet.

Ella must find a way into an exclusive Spring Break party if she has any chance of saving her relationship with Dawoud; her relationship status becomes least of her worries when her meddling gets her, Noko and Greta in serious danger.