The Gossip Girl series revolves around a group of teenagers, four of whom live in the opulent Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. The teenagers deal with sex and relationship problems while attending elite private single-sex schools, where their lives are watched by the unseen title character who writes a popular blog about them. Whether or not the characters are aware of the omnipresent Gossip Girl, their every action is noticed and closely documented by the narrator. The main characters are Serena van der Woodsen, Blair Waldorf, Nate Archibald, Jenny Humphrey, Dan Humphrey, Chuck Bass and Vanessa Abrams. Throughout the books, the characters deal with problems that stem from the Upper East Side lifestyle. At the beginning of the series, Serena returns from boarding school for an unknown reason. She resumes her "best friends forever" status with Blair and her "normal" life filled with designer clothing and wild parties. The private girls' school of the series, Constance Billard School for Girls, is an exaggerated version of the author's alma mater, the Nightingale-Bamford School.