Set in the not so distant future, in Any Town USA, sixteen-years-old Herman Howards makes a fateful decision. He enters his suburban school and kills thirty nine students, two teachers, and a police officer. Just before his arrest, he emails his idol, famous journalist Lax Morales, sending him clips of the shootings captured with Herman's own digital camera. In the clips Herman tells Lax, "I want to tell my story on your show". Lax, haunted by his own past, is now face to face with Herman.

Betty Suarez is smart, tough and tenacious, but also sensitive and loving. She hopes these skills will help her to get a job within the Meade Publishing Corporation. The fact that she isn’t traditionally attractive initially keeps her from getting hired by fashion bible, Mode. The magazine, however, is in flux, with power-hungry executives vying for dominance. Hoping to control the situation, the publisher gives his inexperienced son, Daniel, the position of Editor-in-Chief. He hires Betty as Daniel’s assistant after catching him in a compromising position with his secretary on his first day on the job. After a tough start, in which Daniel tries to force Betty into quitting by treating her terribly, he realizes her worth and the two pair up to be an effective team.

Robert James, an entertainment reporter for a local Los Angeles television station, is handsome, smart and thoroughly modern in his thinking. Recently divorced from the somewhat self-absorbed Neesee, the mother of their endearing 6-year-old son, Robert refuses to buy into the old stereotype that being divorced means you can't get along with the ex.