Maxton Hall: The World Between Us is based on the novel Save Me by Mona Kasten and revolves around Ruby Bell and other students of the eponymous institution. The series is streaming on Prime Video.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary:
Maxton Hall is a school where rich and elite children prepare themselves to enter some of the most prestigious colleges available.
Ruby Bell isn’t like any of these people as she comes from a humble background and had to work hard to get where she is.
She’s hoping to get a recommendation from her teacher Mr. Graham Sutton as he’s a former alumni of Oxford University and it is her dream to study there too.
Her plans change when she walks in on him making out with another student, Lydia Beaufort.
Lydia asks her brother James to fix the problem and he tries to bribe Ruby but she is not interested in money.
Ruby approaches Principal Lexington for a recommendation and he says that even though she is a good student, she doesn’t have any extracurriculars of note.
She says that she is the head of the event planning committee so he offers her a recommendation if she plans a successful welcome party for the new students and their families.
James figures that he will destroy her credibility if he can ensure Ruby’s silence. During the party, he bribes the DJ and orders a group of strippers to disrupt proceedings.
His prank is exposed and the principal calls him and Ruby to his office. He says that both of them deserve punishment and suspends James from the lacrosse team.
He also rescinds his offer of a recommendation letter for Ruby. Lexington tells them that they have to work together for the next party to overturn their punishments.
James and Ruby despise each other and don’t envision things working out but they have no choice.
Ruby lives with her family in a modest house. Her father is wheelchair-bound and depends on her mother’s income, while her sister is a huge fashion enthusiast.
She’s been doing a part-time job and saving up money to buy a new chair lift for their house so that her father can go to the first floor once again.
James and Lydia’s parents run the Beaufort clothing line and James is set up to take over the empire once he’s ready.
Lydia doesn’t get any attention from her parents even though she shows more of an interest in the business and has an aptitude for it.
She is also on thin ice with her father Mortimer because of the incident with Graham. Mortimer is very hard on James and expects him to focus on the family business and nothing else.
The next event is a charity gala and James suggests a Victorian theme which gains mass support from the committee.
Ruby asks James if his family collection includes some Victorian dresses they could use for their poster.
He says that the dresses exist, but he won’t help her access them since he’s not keen on helping.
Ruby gets her sister to create a dress from scratch but when it burns down, she has nowhere else to turn.
James begins to feel some sympathy for her after seeing her struggle and he takes her to London where they check out several Victorian pieces.
They try them out and have a good time but James’ parents arrive and his father scolds them after throwing some veiled insults at Ruby.
James tries to fix things with Ruby and helps her out more earnestly. He’s also being trained for the launch of “Young Beaufort” the family’s new line that was Lydia’s idea.
His father says that Ruby and the event committee shouldn’t be any of his concern but he enjoys the time he spends with Ruby.
She is the only one who asks him what he wants to do in life and believes he has a choice in the matter.
James and Ruby’s friendship garners much attention in the school and outside, especially after a house party where James helps Ruby after she is thrown into a pool.
She has a fear of water because when she was younger, she fell into the lake and when her father tried to save her, he was hit by another boat, and that caused his disability.
Lydia and Graham love each other and she suggests running away together to start a new life but he doesn’t want her to throw her life away so easily.
The charity gala draws closer and Mortimer tells James that he cannot attend because he has the launch of the Young Beaufort line.
James and Lydia decide to disobey their father with James attending the gala and Lydia attending the press conference because she wrote the speech and knows it by heart.
James and Ruby kiss for the first time at the gala but Mortimer shows up to take his son away.
Ruby gets her recommendation letter from Principal Lexington but James and Lydia are scolded by their father for their stunt.
When James tries to speak his mind, he gets a smack on the face as Mortimer threatens to destroy Ruby’s family if he continues spending time with her.
James begins ignoring Ruby and pushing her away for her safety but she doesn’t understand why because she doesn’t have the whole picture.
Invitations start arriving from Oxford for the interviews and Ruby gets hers as well. Everyone travels to the university for their interviews, including Ruby, James, and Lydia.
Ending explained:
One step closer
Ruby and James end up with rooms across each other while they are at Oxford but she doesn’t want anything distracting her from her interviews.
A second-year student helps her and the others with the interview process and guides them around.
James also aces the early parts of his interviews with the teachers comparing him to his father often.
Lydia finds out that she’s pregnant just before leaving for Oxford and that distracts her from the interviews.
She has a moment with Ruby where Ruby finds out and tells her that having a child shouldn’t discourage her from trying to achieve her dreams.
Being truthful
Lydia tells Ruby that even though he’s putting up a wall, James is suffering because he had to give up being with Ruby.
Ruby feels frustrated by his decision and during a group discussion, they argue in front of all the other students.
They rush back to the dorm where James finally tells her why he’s being cruel to her. She says that it isn’t his responsibility to try and protect her.
James has the confidence to go after what he wants and while Ruby does well on her final interviews, James ignores his.
A new chapter
Ruby returns home to discover a new chair lift and her father in her room for the first time in years.
James and Lydia get back and learn that their mother died after suffering a stroke. Mortimer didn’t tell them because he didn’t want them to get distracted.
James is enraged and takes a swing at his father as Lydia begs them to stop. They are pulled apart and James storms off.
He goes to Ruby’s house for comfort but he sees her having a happy moment with her family and doesn’t want to disturb that.
Also Read: Luca: Prom Dates character explained