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In 1950s Scranton, Pennsylvania, Jewish teenager David Greene says goodbye to his father, Alan, a coal yard worker. David, a high school senior, is on his way to St. Matthew’s, an elite preparatory school in Cabot, Massachusetts, that has recruited him to play football. Alan Greene hopes his son will take advantage of the St. Matthew’s scholarship, and gain admittance to Harvard University. When David arrives in Cabot, he is met by Coach McDevitt, who warns that the other seniors will be curious about him, and he discourages the boy from revealing too much about himself. David meets his well-bred roommate, Chris Reece, and Chris’s friends: Rip Van Kelt, Jack Connors, Charlie Dillon, and “Mack” McGivern. Charlie Dillon taunts David about his football scholarship, but when David calls him a “prick,” Charlie reveals that he had hopes of being quarterback before David was recruited. At chapel, David remains mum as his classmates sing Protestant hymns and recite the Lord’s Prayer. Headmaster Dr. Bartram gives a speech about the importance of the school’s code of honor, and states that the country’s elite class should care more about honor and service than personal gain. Back at the dorm, the boys listen to a rhythm and blues song on Mack McGivern’s hi-fi radio, and Mack comments that he bought the radio for a bargain price after “Jewing down” the salesman. Realizing his classmates are uniformly anti-Semitic, David removes his Star of David necklace and hides it in a sock drawer before joining everyone else in the showers. Later, he telephones his father, who reminds him that Saturday is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Alan urges David to go to temple, but David replies that his first football game is that day. On Rosh Hashanah, David leads the St. Matthews team to victory, then sneaks into the chapel, dons a yarmulke, and recites Jewish prayers until Headmaster Bartram interrupts. Bartram reprimands David for coming into the chapel after dark, but acknowledges that David sacrificed his traditions for the football team and offers to overlook the infraction. When Mack McGivern performs poorly in Mr. Cleary’s French class, and Charlie Dillon is unable to answer questions in Mr. Gierasch’s history class, the boys fret about their chances of getting into their preferred Ivy League schools. David reassures Mack that there are other schools comparable to Princeton University, prompting Mack to explain that he is a “legacy” who hails from a long line of Princeton graduates. Likewise, Charlie Dillon must follow in his father’s footsteps to Harvard, although others tease him about the Jews and Communists known to go there. David asks how Charlie would know if someone were Jewish, and Charlie replies that it is “hard to miss a Hebe.” The St. Matthew’s boys attend a dance with students from the Overbrook Girls’ School. There, David notices Charlie dancing with a beautiful blonde named Sally Wheeler. Finding Sally alone during a slow song, David asks her to dance. Sally informs him that Charlie is an old friend but nothing more. David tells her she is beautiful, and she returns the compliment, but Charlie cuts in and resumes dancing with Sally. Back at school, Mr. Cleary ridicules Mack during a French recitation. That night, Mack disappears and the boys find him in Mr. Cleary’s darkened classroom, mumbling through his recitation. As Mack is carried away in an ambulance, David yells at Mr. Cleary for causing the boy’s nervous breakdown. Charlie discourages David from threatening Cleary, reminding him that good grades and admittance to the right college will give them “the keys to the kingdom.” Charlie recalls that a St. Matthew’s senior once committed suicide when he did not get into Harvard. David claims he would never take his own life over something so trivial, and Charlie says he envies David, who does not have to live up to anyone’s expectations. Sally Wheeler telephones David, and they arrange to meet at Skip’s Diner. There, David regales her with stories of hardscrabble life in Scranton, and she notes how different he is from other boys. When they part ways at the bus stop, she kisses him on the cheek. They see each other again at a tailgate party before the football game against St. Matthew’s leading rival, St. Luke’s. Hoping to impress his father, Grayson Dillon, and brother, Grayson “Gray” Dillon, III, Charlie urges David to pass him the football, despite Coach McDevitt’s instructions to do otherwise. David complies with Charlie’s requests, but when Charlie fails multiple times, David uses him as a shield in order to score the game-winning touchdown himself. The Dillons celebrate the win with Sally Wheeler and her family at a country club. David joins them for dinner, and dances with Sally when Grayson, Sr., asks for time alone with Charlie. After receiving a conciliatory speech from his father, Charlie finds David and Sally outside and tries to pull Sally away. Sally rejects Charlie, however, and he goes to the bar. As David and Sally kiss, Charlie overhears a St. Luke’s alumnus joking that their football team would never accept David because he is a Jew. Back at the dorm, the football players shower together and bask in their win. Charlie announces that the joke is on them because David is a Jew. He calls David a “kike,” and David attacks him. David returns to his dorm room and puts on his Star of David. He confronts his roommate, Chris Reece, who accuses David of lying and claims that everything about Jews is different. David is ostracized by Chris and the rest of the group, and the next day, finds a banner hanging above his bed with a Swastika and the message, “Go home Jew.” David challenges whoever made the banner, but no one comes forth. He goes to Sally’s swim practice, and confronts her about avoiding his calls. She admits her friends have been teasing her and breaks up with him. The night before final exams, Charlie Dillon makes a “crib sheet” to use during Mr. Gierasch’s history test. After the exam, Gierasch finds the crib sheet on the floor and announces to the class that he will fail everyone if the boy who cheated does not come forth. David finds Charlie and reveals that he saw him cheating. However, Charlie refuses to confess. Instead, he tells the other boys that David cheated. David denies it, and the boys decide to vote on the matter. As they deliberate, Chris and Jack Connors defend David, while others make anti-Semitic comments and claim he cannot be trusted. David receives more votes than Charlie, and agrees to turn himself in to Headmaster Bartram, but maintains his innocence. Arriving at Bartram’s office, David sees Rip Van Kelt is also there. Rip discloses that he saw Charlie cheat. Bartram apologizes to David for the debacle, and informs him that Charlie will be expelled. Having grown cynical about St. Matthew’s “traditions,” David comments that as long as the school is using him for football, he plans to use it to get into Harvard. On his way out, he sees Charlie Dillon being driven away. Charlie tells David that he will still get into Harvard, and this incident will be forgotten in ten years, but David will still be a Jew. David responds that Charlie will still be a “prick” and walks away.

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