Six teens arrive at Arcadia House to pursue their dreams. For some it's the opportunity of a lifetime, for others it's a last chance. All are strangers and the last thing they expect to find is family.
Elite teens from around Australia find placement in Arcadia House, a hostel in Sydney. Shy island girl Ava must cope with a new, cool music school, a haunted bedroom & her desire to make friends despite her crippling shyness.
Mick and Vee resort to a team-building scavenger hunt to get the kids to bond but Lily escapes the event and heads out to find the Sydney she remembers from her early years with her mother.
When an opportunity to further develop her friendship with Jasmin leads to an opportunity to sing with a famous DJ, Ava must face the question of how far she is prepared to go to succeed in this new city.
Levi discovers Reece is homeless and sleeping rough in the school gym; Dylan receives a visit from his high profile dad; and Lily challenges Zoe to a boxing match to settle things between them.
Out one night doing his stencil work, Dylan is confronted by the local graffiti crew. He gets away but the next day realises that one of the crew is Ryan, a student at SIM. He finds the courage to come clean to Ryan.
Zoe's family from Darwin visits, forcing her and Levi to hide their romance. But when tensions explode after their romance is discovered, Zoe must choose between family obligation and teen romance.
Ava meets cool roller-derby-chick Macy who encourages her, Zoe and Lily to join her roller derby 'fresh meat' trials; Dylan gets into deeper waters with Ryan and the lads; and Levi tries to charm back Zoe.
Levi's dad is released from jail & he's forced to face a lot of unresolved questions about their relationship. When Jimmy fails to show up to an important football game, it's Zoe who brings them together.
Lily overcompensates when she organises a 16th birthday party for Reece. He's never had a party before and Lily pulls out all stops, but when Mick is called away to a family emergency, the inevitable happens: gatecrashers!
The dream draws closer for Zoe when she learns about an Australian Athletics Federation (AAF) high altitude training camp in Colorado, and for Levi when he learns that his grand final game will be watched by an AFL Scout.
A 'boys day' at the beach leads Dylan and Levi to get into trouble with the Police and Ava is introduced to a day of fame with Ngaiire.
It's the lead up to Ava's final showcase and her stage fright is causing her serious issues. Macy tries to help but it's Vee who has the best solution - Koorioke. Zoe's best friend Kodie arrives from Darwin for time trials.
As the year closes, each housemate attempts to cling onto the dream they began with.
