Marti Perkins, a law student at Lancer University, discovers that her scholarship has been cancelled and her well-meaning but irresponsible mother, Wanda has neglected to inform her. Broke and out of options, Marti realizes the only way she can stay in school is to win a place on the Hellcats Lancer;s legendary cheer squad and the scholarship that comes with it. Despite a confrontation with the Hellcats peppy team captain, Savannah, Marti wins over coach Vanessa Lodge, makes the squad and is thrust into a competitive world unlike anything she has ever known. With her best friend Dan by her side, Marti navigates her new world as a cheerleader and Savannah’s new roommate, while trying to avoid any interaction with squad member Alice Verdura, who is instantly jealous when she realizes that Marti has caught the eye of Alice’s ex-boyfriend Lewis Flynn.

Marti is horrified when she discovers Wanda in the audience at qualifiers and banishes her from the stadium. After Charlotte, Savannah’s sister and captain of the Hellcats’ rival team from Memphis Christian college, falls and suffers a serious injury, Savannah is torn between going with her sister to the hospital and staying to compete. Savannah tells Marti her parents stopped talking to her when she decided to transfer from Memphis Christian to the secular Lancer University, forcing Marti to re-think her stance on Wanda attending qualifiers. Meanwhile, Lewis blasts Alice for putting all their scholarships at risk, and Dan takes an interest in Savannah.