Abby enters her first year of middle school unsure how she will fit in without the support of her only best friend who moved away. Within the first few days of school, shes tripped and shoved by a group of four sixth-grade girls she never met before. One time, they trapped her in a school stairway and punched her so hard she fell to the floor in pain. She cant figure out why they are picking on her. She keeps the attacks to herself afraid if she tells someone, the girls will become meaner toward her Abbys spirits are lifted by becoming friendly with Eden, a handicapped boy, also starting sixth grade, who moves into the house next door. Once Eden hears about her problem, he encourages her to determine a way to stand up to them. He even tries to show her techniques to push back, but Abby cannot find the courage to use them. On Halloween night, when Abby and Eden meet this pack of girls on a neighborhood street and they start an attack, Abby shudders in fear wondering if she will ever be able to stand up for herself.