Students at Steinmetz High School are less than enthusiastic about anything in the classroom, except for Jolie Fitch, a junior who enjoys Dr. Jerry Plecki's English class and is involved heavily in all discussions, especially on his favorite book ''Paradise Lost''. Dr. Plecki is offered the position of Academic Decathlon coach, a job all the other teachers consider to be a waste of time for them as well as the students. Dr. Plecki holds an open call for the students after class, but no one arrives to participate. He is about to leave for the day when Jolie comes in and convinces him that he needs to look for the smarter students and recruit them. He succeeds in recruiting seven students (Darius, Matt, Paul, Dominik, Irwin, Agnieska, and Jolie). They spend the next few months studying hard for the regional competition.