Issues of sexual orientation and socioeconomic disparity come to a boil when lurid photos of a high school boy named Taylor Blaine are posted on social media following a school party. Circumstances become more complicated when Taylor accuses two players on his private high school's championship basketball team of drugging, assaulting and then posting the pictures of him online.

After Anne calls 911 to get help for Taylor, she encounters difficulty getting the authorities to pay attention to the alleged crime. Meanwhile, Leslie makes sure Leyland is ready for the impending investigation, Terri has an intervention with Kevin, and Eric's truth comes out.

A news article is published online describing what happened at the captain's party and naming Kevin as a participant in the alleged assault on Taylor. Anne is forced to defend herself after the item is published, while new evidence is revealed that paints a murkier picture of what really happened on the night in question.

In the hours after Eric is forced to openly discuss his sexuality, Taylor must defend his actions on the night of his alleged assault to the police. Anne struggles with the discovery that her son is gay, while a critical decision by the detectives makes some involved feel as though the worst may be over, and at Marshall, Chris deals with the aftermath of a seemingly innocuous incident that begins to take on racial overtones.

Against the school lawyer's advice, Leslie decides to take it upon herself to welcome Eric back to Leyland with a school-wide showing of empathy—but Eric soon discovers that his return does not sit well with some of his fellow basketball team members. Meanwhile, Anne decides that she'd rather take the school to court over what happened to Taylor than accept a settlement, and Chris finds himself being vilified when students begin picketing Marshall after three Hispanic students are suspended for fighting with a black student, who received no punishment.

Feeling nothing but pain and conflict, Taylor continues to emotionally unravel after Anne's private medical records are anonymously posted online in an effort to shame her. The act catches the attention of Sebastian, who makes another attempt to engage Anne. Meanwhile, Leslie offers a generous settlement to Evy's father in order to protect the school from litigation, and Eric attempts to find some misguided solace with a stranger.

Leyland High School mourns the loss of one of their own, while Leslie finds her job on the line in the aftermath of the tragedy. Curt attempts to file a missing person’s report with the police when he suspects Lilah has run off with Peter, after she blames him for Eric’s sexuality. Becca makes a startling confession to Dan, and Sebastian reaches out to Anne in an attempt to help her bring retribution against those who caused Taylor’s downfall.

The entire community is forced to re-examine all of the choices they have made in the wake of the sexual encounter between Eric and Taylor, while leaked personal information implicates both Kevin and Becca to the shooting. Sebastian targets the Leyland school by releasing its most sensitive information online, causing Leslie to take drastic measures, and at Marshall, Chris finds himself at a career crossroads when he faces a school review board.

Sebastian gets a taste of his own medicine and is stunned to discover that someone is usurping his cause, initiating a chain reaction that could cause the downfall all of those involved. Dan and Steph deal with the fallout of Becca's arrest, while Michael goes to extreme measures to ensure that Kevin is not implicated as being complicit in the beating of Taylor, and Chris makes a decision about his future at Marshall.