Prologue: The mystery -- The treasure map -- Leaving -- The pressure cooker -- A math problem -- An American in utopia -- Drive -- The metamorphosis -- Difference -- The $4 million teacher -- Coming home -- Author's note -- Appendix I: How to spot a world-class education -- Appendix II: AFS student experience survey

Following three teenagers who chose to spend one school year living in Finland, South Korea, and Poland, a literary journalist recounts how attitudes, parenting, and rigorous teaching have revolutionized these countries' education results