This is the story of a strange & disturbing friendship seen through the eyes of Natalie as she gets to know Tulip Pierce a delinquent girl most others go out of their way to avoid. Nobody wants Tulip in their gang. She bunks off school is rude to the teachers & makes herself unpopular with her classmates by telling awful lies. But none of this matters to Natalie who finds Tulip's behaviour exciting & dangerous. At first she doesn't care that other people are upset by Tulip's bizarre games but as the games become increasingly dangerous & sinister Natalie realises that Tulip is going too far. Way too far... Tulip becomes even more destructive & after a row with Natalie she commits a terrible crime. This is a compelling story in which Anne Fine explores the dark side of a friendship bordering on obsession & sensitively depicts one girl's gradual decline into hostility & violence.