Michelle is the 14-year-old daughter of the janitor of the PINY (the Piny Institute of New York), an elite high school that gives its wunderkinds cutting-edge instruction in fashion, design and the performing arts. Michelle has always dreamed of becoming a PINY girl. And then she gets a scholarship, completely out of the blue. Her greatest wish is about to come true. But dreams are not always a bed of roses: Michelle's humble origins and her innate talent for fashion make her a major rival for PINY's "mean girls", the Beautiful People. This rivalry sparks off on the very first day of class, totally by chance, and Michelle finds herself being welcomed into PINY's alternative clique: the Indie Chic girls. Just before the course begins, her father reveals to her that she was adopted. But an even bigger surprise lies in store, and as the episodes progress, she will finally discover something that the viewers knew all along: she has a sister and they go to the same school.