James is tired of being picked on at Banford Middle School, so he is making some changes. He has a plan: A different school + different clothes + different rules - a different name = FREEDOM. James switches to Cedar Charter Middle School and, at first, everything seems to go perfectly. But, just as James starts to feel secure, catastrophy strikes. Her name is Sondra Simmons and she is from Banford Middle School, too. Sondra shows up at Cedar and the new life that James has put together begins to unravel bit by bit. As James struggles to keep his new dignity, he finds that he is doing more than just repairing the damage that Sondra has caused. He is building a new life, and a new and stronger James.