Betty Suarez, an unglamorous woman in her 20s, starts work for a fashion magazine called "MODE", and in the process is introduced to the harsh treatment she will have to deal with from her more beautiful co-workers. She also meets with her boss, Daniel Meade, who was just named the new editor in chief by his father, Bradford Meade. Daniel succeeds the revered Fey Sommers, who was killed in a suspicious car accident. The announcement of Daniel being named editor-in-chief does not sit well with Wilhelmina Slater, the magazine's creative editor who has been vying for the position herself.