A mysterious person seems to be chasing student Martha Sayers (Terry Lumley), who drives to her sister's lakeside house in Los Angeles. The same day, the police and Martha's sister Elizabeth (Pamela Franklin) find her Hanging in the living room. The police rule her death as an unmotivated suicide, but Elizabeth refuses to believe this and investigates further. She decides to visit the exclusive academy that Martha attended, The Salem Academy for Women, despite warnings from Martha's roommate, Lucy Dembrow (Gwynne Gilford). Under the assumed name of Elizabeth Morgan, she enrolls at the college, where she is welcomed by her classmates Roberta Lockhart (Kate Jackson), Debbie Jones (Jamie Smith Jackson) and Jody Keller (Cheryl Ladd).