The Thoroughbreds

The second installment in the Tiffin Academy series follows the senior year at Tiffin, an elite boarding school in western Massachusetts, from Move-In Day in September through graduation the following May. The story unfolds through rotating perspectives and an occasional collective student narrator voice that speaks as "we," capturing the school's social ecosystem across the year.

Charlotte "Charley" Hicks, a bookish student from Baltimore who transferred to Tiffin the year before, returns for senior year alongside her boyfriend, Andrew "East" Eastman, the school's most privileged student. Charley aims for academic excellence and admission to a top college. East, whose father, Jesse Eastman, is president of Tiffin's board and has donated more than twenty million dollars, refuses to apply to college, a source of tension between them. Charley's home life remains difficult: Her father, Thad, died during her sophomore year, and her mother, Fran, married a much-younger man named Joey whom Charley despises.

Head of School Audre Robinson faces a crisis on the first day of the academic year when she discovers that approximately seven million dollars, a quarter of the operating budget, has vanished. Her financial adviser, Oak Bellamy, confirms the losses stem from failed investments in a crypto startup, into which he moved Tiffin's funds using documents Audre signed without reading. Audre delays telling Jesse, hoping the markets will recover. She also welcomes two new faculty members: college counselor John Maverick ("Mav"), a charming man separating from his wife, Amanda, who runs the nearby Colbert School; and history teacher Dr. John Coopersmith ("Coop"), a distinguished, widowed Black professor to whom Audre feels an immediate attraction.

The student body reassembles around familiar tensions and new arrivals. Davi Banerjee, a British TikTok influencer, hangs a neon sign reading "Comparisons Are Odious" in her room, signaling a desire to redefine her personal brand. Olivia Hudezech-Tottingknaffer, an insecure final-year student who has spent years chasing social acceptance, returns physically transformed, hoping to climb the social ladder by attaching herself to Tilly Benbow, a wealthy girl from Greenwich who appears visibly unwell. The most significant new arrival is Liam Donovan, a scholarship student from Queens whose older brother, Simon, died of a fentanyl overdose. Jesse insisted Audre admit Liam as a favor to his girlfriend, O'Malley, who stocks Liam's room with new clothes, a MacBook, and school supplies. A second disruption comes from Philippa "Pippa" Sacks, a glamorous day student whose mother, reality TV host Sondra Sacks, is renovating a nearby house for her Home and Garden Television (HGTV) show Gut Punch. Pippa knows East from New York and calls him "Andy," unsettling Charley, and she captures Liam's attention, beginning a love triangle with Davi.

The year's first defining moment comes when Dub Austin, Tiffin's quarterback, delivers a senior speech in Chapel declaring he is gay, revealing that his late girlfriend, Cinnamon Peters, who died by suicide, was the only person who knew. The school gives Dub a standing ovation, but his best friend and wide receiver, Hakeem Pryce, slips out, hurt that Dub did not confide in him privately. Their rift affects the football team all season.

Mav's individual counseling sessions reveal each student's aspirations. Tilly breaks down, disclosing a troubled relationship with an older man. Liam begins to envision a future beyond a local commuter school. Mav's meeting with Charley proves most personal: He attended Colgate with her late father, a revelation that moves her to tears. He proposes an informal art appreciation class, and Charley agrees.

Through the fall, relationships develop in parallel. Audre and Coop grow closer and share their first kiss on Halloween. Taylor Wilson, chair of the Honor Board, Tiffin's student disciplinary body, begins a secret sexual relationship with Hakeem. English teacher Rhode Rivera starts seeing a mysterious woman he meets at a local bar, never learning her identity. Over Thanksgiving, Davi and Liam bond while staying on campus, sharing stories of loss. On the last night of break, Liam comes to Davi's room, and they spend the night together despite Liam's relationship with Pippa. Back in Baltimore, Charley endures a difficult holiday as Fran suspects Joey of having an affair.

Early Decision results bring widespread disappointment in December. Nearly every senior is deferred or rejected; Taylor alone earns acceptance to Duke, though she suspects she is pregnant. The semester's crisis arrives during finals week when Pippa hosts a party at her house. The group takes ecstasy, ketamine, and hallucinogenic gummies Pippa provides. Olivia falls asleep and wakes to find bedsheets on fire from pillar candles, and a younger student, Grady Tish, is unconscious and must be revived with the overdose-reversal drug Narcan. The Honor Board votes unanimously to expel Pippa. During the hearing, Sondra Sacks recognizes Rhode as the man she slept with at the bar, publicly humiliating him. Pippa's father offers Audre a bribe to reverse the expulsion; Audre refuses. That night, Audre is on her first date with Coop; she wakes to missed calls from Cordelia Spooner, Tiffin's head of admissions, about the emergency.

Over winter break, Taylor confirms her pregnancy and confides only in Dub. On the way to a clinic, she miscarries. She tells Hakeem nothing until spring. Charley runs into Tilly near her home and realizes Tilly is the person Joey has been seeing. Fran confirms it, and the Benbows withdraw Tilly; she finishes senior year at Greenwich Country Day.

East secretly applies to NYU, Babson, and Colgate, asking Mav to keep it from Charley. Charley continues attending Mav's art class alone, and East grows resentful. On Valentine's weekend, a day trip Charley takes with Mav to an art museum runs late due to a flat tire. East confronts Charley on the chapel roof and confesses the full extent of his involvement with Simone Bergeron, the former history teacher at the center of the previous year's scandal: He kissed Bergeron, performed oral sex on her, and invited her to his room. Charley tells East they need a break. The breakup ripples through campus. Olivia, stung after Charley fires her from the school newspaper, resolves to write an exposé about East's privileged treatment, contacting Bergeron to confirm that East built a speakeasy called Priorities beneath the dorms.

Over spring break on Harbour Island in the Bahamas, Hakeem learns about Taylor's miscarriage and promises support. Dub breaks up with his boyfriend after discovering the boyfriend secretly opened a private email attachment from Cinnamon. On the final night, Charley sees East dancing with Pippa, storms over, and reclaims him publicly. They reconcile.

College decisions arrive in spring. Davi gets into the University of Miami, Liam receives a full ride to Lehigh, and Charley is accepted at Harvard. East reveals he was accepted at Babson, and they plan to be together near Boston. Coop tells Audre he must leave Tiffin to help his pregnant daughter in New Orleans, and Audre agrees to go with him, announcing her departure. At Tiffin's 115th-anniversary celebration, Olivia sneaks in intending to expose East but abandons her plan after finding him upset that Jesse publicly announced O'Malley's pregnancy without telling East first. The next morning, Audre confesses the financial crisis to Jesse. He is furious but agrees to cover the deficit, citing Audre's loyalty, including her longstanding agreement to accommodate Jesse's wishes regarding East's enrollment, and her refusal of the Sacks bribe. A cascade of reversals follows: Coop's daughter is offered a job in New England, so Audre and Coop stay at Tiffin. Mav reconciles with his estranged wife and returns to Colbert.

At Prize Day, Charley is named valedictorian. The ceremony reaches its emotional peak when Dub reveals that Cinnamon's email attachment, which she asked him not to open until graduation, contains a recording of her singing a benediction: a stripped-down version of a Jason Mraz song wishing her schoolmates well. Cinnamon's voice fills the tent, and the entire community weeps and sings along, transforming her legacy from one defined by tragedy into one defined by love. After the ceremony, Davi gives her neon sign to Olivia, who will take it to High Point University. Charley and Davi share a final swim at Jewel Pond, toasting with champagne as their time at Tiffin ends.