A woman sends her husband and son off with a lot of instructions about how to do well on a college application interview. Then she calls someone and he comes over and asks if she wants to have sex. She says yes.

Later, SVU is called. The woman has overdosed on pills and alcohol. Her phone has a text saying to someone that he is a rapist. Ten minutes earlier, she sent him a complimentary text. Sonny wonders how this is possible. Later he meets Justin, Laura's son, who says she is too stressed out about him getting into school.

Olivia is interrupted by a call from Noah's school. Apparently his language skills are delayed. She is upset but has no time to deal with it because of this case.

The detectives find out the man is a director of admissions at Hudson University. They go to interrogate him and find out that the director of admissions is an African American man who looks nothing like the photo of the perp Laura had on her phone. 

Benson declares this is rape because Laura intended to have sex with who he claimed to be, not who he really was. Sonny, Fin, and Rollins are doubtful. Fin thinks all guys lie. Rollins thinks it's disgusting but not necessarily rape. Meanwhile, it's revealed the man is a security guard at the school.

The detectives interview the man, Tom Metcalf, who claims this is no different than using tax loopholes to avoid paying taxes. He brags about how women want him because of his alleged status. He is not under arrest so he leaves.

The detectives investigate and find at Tom's home that mothers have been sending him their kids' work to try to get them into the school. They go to look for him and find out he is with another mother. They break into the room and inform her that he is not who he claims to be. The woman does not want to testify against him because it is embarrassing that she tried to sleep her way into her daughter going to Hudson.

They find that Tom has recordings of his sexual exploits and arrest him for rape based on his false pretense and the sex tapes.

The judge says only the sex tapes related to Laura, who is pressing charges, are admissible. He privately encourages Barba to drop the case and accuses him of trying to use his courtroom for political gain.

In court, Laura testifies and says that she only wanted to have sex with the director of admissions and that it was a business transaction. The defense attorney accuses her of prostitution. The defense then calls Gary Bell, who is a doorman and who is claiming Laura called Tom by his proper name the third time they had sex. Barba objects that he never heard of this witness before.

Laura is told and she insists Gary is lying. She is upset because she thinks Tom will win the case and resents Benson getting her to testify and embarrass herself for nothing.

The detectives find out that Gary secretly recorded people in the hotel. The defense withdraws him as a witness and rests their case. The judge more or less orders Barba to cut a deal after the defense's closing includes the idea that lying is not against the law.

Barba informs Benson about the deal and she is disgusted. She goes to tell Laura and finds that Justin has committed suicide.