Plot: It's the Christmas season, which coincides with the deb ball season in New York City. Most of the world outside of the upper class or who aspire to such a life are not aware that these deb balls still exist. After one such dance, Tom Townsend, by chance, is invited to a small home gathering of a small clique of ball attendees who call themselves the Sally Fowler Rat Pack (SFRP), with one of them, Charlie Black, further coining their life with the acronym UHB (urban haute bourgeoisie). Tom now lives largely outside this world, ever since his parents' split four years ago, he living with his mother, while his remarried father, with who be believes he has a good relationship despite not seeing him often, is the one with the wealth. In addition, Tom has a mentality different than the others, he who is quietly straightforward almost to the point of being socially unaware, does not believe in the deb ball life despite never having been part of it, and believes he can have valid opinions on matters without ever having experienced them. Tom and most of the SFRP have mutual acquaintances, most specifically Serena Slocum, Tom's ex-girlfriend who most can see with who he is still infatuated. Despite these issues - the lack of money of which they are aware - and despite having internally mixed feelings about Tom as a person, the SFRP invite him to join their group to balance out the genders. He is taken under the wing of the group's alpha male, Nick Smith, who truly likes Tom, but has an open dislike for Rick Von Sloneker, Serena's current boyfriend, Rick and Serena who are not part of the SFRP. Although they travel to the balls and follow-up parties as a group, Tom is to be the official/unofficial companion of Audrey Rouget, the insecure one of the group who knows more about Tom than she lets on. As the deb ball season progresses and nears its end, the questions become if the SFRP life can continue as is or if the individual members even want it to continue.
Alternative Plot: A radical student is adopted by a group of young New Yorkers, serves as a catalyst to alter his and their lives. Gathering in a Manhattan apartment, the group of friends meet to discuss social mobility, Fourier's socialism and play bridge in their cocoon of upper-class society - until they are joined by a man with a critical view of their way of life.
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