Upon arriving in Concord, New Hampshire in January 1986 to cover the hometown hooplah for the looming Space Shuttle "Challenger" launch, with local teacher Christa McAuliffe on the mission's crew, reporter Campbell Babbitt decides to call an old college friend, only to discover an apparent suicide. Babbitt, who has his own ethical baggage, gravitates toward his friend's high-school students in hopes of finding an unsung hero story about a teacher who made a permanent impact on the social misfits of the school. Instead, he discovers a group of dysfunctional students, outcasts led by narcissistic seductress Lucy, repressed voyeur Jim, and scheming pregnant teen Tess. In a gradual reversal of roles, Babbitt soon finds himself learning from this unusual group of kids.