Car will start but wont go into gear

I recently aquired a 97 LS Lumina with about 200,000 miles. A friend of mine was the previous owner. I had never drove the car before I bought it, but she was needing to sell it and I took her at her word everything worked great. Well, it starts up just fine, idles great, but when I go to put it into gear, nothing. It doesn't matter if it is reverse or drive. I asked her if there was a secret to getting it into gear, but she said that it drove fine the last time she drove it. And wouldn't have any idea what the problem might be. After buying it, I am tapped out immediately for a lot of cash and I don't have the slightest idea either. I was wondering if anyone else might have had this problem, or have an idea what I might want to try to fix it.