11 year-old Flora "Floss" Barnes' mother Sally and father Charlie split up when she was little and she wishes they'd get back together because she doesn't like her stepfather, Steve, and her little half-brother Tiger.

Rhiannon's posh and snobby mother assumes that Charlie is an unfit father and repeatedly tries to lecture him and pamper Floss believing she is living in an unclean dump.

However, one day, a group of "yobbos" (as Charlie calls them) fight Rose's son Saul and when he attempts to stop the fistfight, the van catches on fire with Floss trapped inside.

[2] In a starred review, Booklist's Kathleen Isaacs highlighted how "Wilson produces a poignant, gently humorous, and totally satisfying tale".

[1] Kirkus Reviews highlighted the novel's heavy issues, including "poverty, bankruptcy, drunken/bawdy adult behavior, bullying and unconditional parental/child love".

[3] To that list, Publishers Weekly added the "compelling sometimes gritty elements" of "shopping, gambling, fair-going, romance, a knife-fight and even a scary fire".

[3] Publishers Weekly also highlighted Floss's relationship with her father, who is " fully dimensional in all his flaws" and ,"whose love for his daughter often clouds his judgment".