In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, Cameron is the new kid in school who becomes smitten with the beautiful Bianca. But Bianca's overprotective and domineering father forbids Bianca to date unless her older sister Kat, an surly and hostile senior, does. In a bid to get Kat a boyfriend, Cameron sets up a plan to have the school stud, Joey Donnar, bribe Patrick Verona, an outcast senior with a rumor-filled past, to take Kat out on dates so he can go to the school's homecoming dance with Bianca. However, neither Patrick or Kat expect their relationship to lead to something so much more. Heath Ledger's American movie debut.