The entire 7th grade class at St. Ann's School knows that Mary-Catherine has a boyfriend. Her best friends, Chloe and Horace, can't wait to finally see the infamous Dusty Greer at the upcoming school dance. There is just one problem... Dusty Greer doesn't really exist. Mean girls, Whitney Chesterfield and Polka-Dot Paige Tate, suspect the truth about Dusty Greer and gleefully anticipate the humiliation Mary-Cat will face when she shows up at the dance alone. To make matters worse, Mary-Cat keeps fainting in front of her entire Language Arts class while trying to give a required oral book report. Between her nose dives in Language Arts and her invisible date to the school dance, Mary-Cat becomes overwhelmed, lashing out at her friends, who decide to join Whitney and Polka Dot Paige at the "popular table". With her parents out of town, the only person left to talk to is her eccentric Aunt Frankie, who puts apples in stew and is mysteriously missing a pinky.