The Honeys meets The Secret History in a work of dark academia like no other — a boarding school thriller about a queer teen from Mississippi who finds himself swept into a world of old money,privilegeand the secret society at the heart of it all. When Cal Ware wins a scholarship to an elite New England boarding schoolhe’s thrilled to leave his past behind. Back home in Mississippihe was the poorqueer kid who never fit in. But at Essex Academyhe’ll be able to reinvent himself. Or so he hopes… But at EssexCal’s classmates only see his cheap clothes and old iPhone. They mock his accentand can’t believe he’s never left the countryor heard of The Hamptons. Calat his breaking pointis about to give up and return to Mississippi when he learns about a secret society on campus — the key to becoming Essex royalty. Cal knows he’s not exactly secret society materialbut to his surprisehe finds an unlikely champion in the handsomecharismaticand slightly dangerous Luke Kim. As they get swept up in the mystery and glamour of the Rush processCal finds himself falling in love for the first time. But as the initiation rituals grow riskier — and increasingly nefarious — Cal must decide how far he’s willing to goand how much of himself he’s willing to sacrificeto save everything and everyone he cherishes most. Because nothing at Essex — not even Cal’s first love — is quite what it seems.