Roger Avery's adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' dark and controversial novel about a group of amoral, and wealthy, East Coast college students. Sean (James Van der Beek) lusts after the unapproachable Lauren (Shannyn Sossaman); Lauren is seeing Victor (Kip Pardue), a handsome and egotistical ladies' man; Victor is also secretly seeing Lauren's room-mate Lara (Jessica Biel); Lauren's ex, Paul (Ian Somerhalder), has become smitten by Sean; and affable Rupert (Clifton Collins Jr) has become the campus drug dealer, readily supplying his classmates with cocaine. Soon their lives move into a more serious gear as Sean finds himself dealing drugs in order to pay debts and encouraging Paul to become one of his customers.