the story began with three teen-age girls coming to canby hall, a prestigious boarding school in greenleaf, massachusetts. canby hall was named after julia canby, the daughter of a boston businessman who had died of scarlet fever while abroad in europe. shelley hyde, from iowa; faith thompson from washington, d.c. and dana morrison from new york city. they were assigned to 407 baker hall. (the other two dorm halls were addison and charles houses) at first the three girls clashed due to their differences, (dana and faith, both being from the east coast, bonded immediately and shelley having a harder time of it due to her being from the midwest) but their young and hip housemother, alison cavanaugh, helped them sort through their differences and they bonded and became best friends. their friendship was even more solidified when, during a trip to see shelley's family and friends in iowa, faith had a terrible medical emergency, which scared everyone involved.