An adored only child growing up in Antigua, Annie has until recently lived a peaceful and content life. She is inseparable from her beautiful mother, a powerful and influential presence, who sits at the very centre of the little girls existence. Loved and cherished, Annie grows and thrives within her mothers shadow.

When she turns twelve, however, Annies life changes, in ways that are often mysterious to her. She begins to question the cultural assumptions of her island world; at school she makes rebellious friends and frequently challenges authority; and most frighteningly, her mother, seeing Annie as a young lady, ceases to be the source of unconditional adoration and takes on the new and unfamiliar guise of adversary.