The privileged prep school teens on Manhattan's Upper East Side first learn that notorious party girl Serena van der Woodsen is back in town the way they learn all the important news in their lives -- from the blog of the all-knowing albeit ultra-secretive Gossip Girl. No one knows Gossip Girl's identity, but everyone in this exclusive and complicated vicious circle relies on her website and text messages for the latest scoop. Even Serena's closest and most competitive friend, Blair Waldorf, is surprised to find that Serena has suddenly ended her self-imposed exile to boarding school and returned to Manhattan. This is a world you have to be born into, full of wealth, power, and prestige, keeping track of the constantly shifting friendships, jealousies and turmoil in this complex world isn't easy, but it's what Gossip Girl does best.