When James Walker first arrives at Tudor College, Cambridge, he is anxious to find his place among new friends. By accident, he encounters one of the Tudor Night Climbers, a secretive and eccentric circle of undergraduates who scale the college towers and gargoyles at night. James falls for the charisma of Francis, the group's ringleader, and Jessica, his beautiful best friend. Jessica becomes his obsession, and his arch rival for Francis's friendship. The group's tearaway extravagance is funded, unwittingly, by Francis's father, Lord Soulford, but when he suddenly cuts his son off, the friends are left floundering, until Francis embroils them all in a plan that will test not only their friendship but also their very souls.