A confronting new look at what it means to be seventeen. Resentful of being 'dumped' at boarding school while her parents are working in Barcelona, Catherine struggles to fit in and feels awkward and different. Difficult encounters with teachers and students cause Cat to question her life and see her creativity labelled as self indulgence. Summonsed home for the funeral of her grandmother, a celebrated artist, Cat seizes the opportunity to confront her mother. But then a collection of words and pictures left by her grandmother helps her to piece together a tragic family secret as well as revealing many parallels between Cat's own life and that of her grandmother. The more she learns about the past, the more Catherine learns about herself.