Cathy Matthews suffers a run of bad luck culminating in a 300-foot tumble down a French mountain while on holiday. After spending time in a hospital and an agonizing six months nursing her smashed legs, she is finally well enough to leave the confines of the family home one afternoon to cover a story for her local college newspaper, the proposed redevelopment of Becmead Wood. The area is a local beauty spot and a magical place where she spent lots of time as a little girl.

Always a keen cyclist, she is also finally able to climb into the saddle of her new mountain bike. A much cherished 18th birthday present from her father, it has sat unused in the hall since his untimely death six months earlier. On her way to town to cover the final planning debate, bad luck strikes again, and she is knocked into a ditch by a hit-and-run driver. Despite her fury, she’s philosophical about the incident and writes it off as yet another unfortunate disaster in a long train of such events since her earliest days. However, once at the town hall, it doesn’t take her long to discover who the mystery driver is, and after a furious argument with the culprit, she finds herself in direct conflict with the new young boss of Marsden Redevelopment, Ltd.

Danny Marsden’s worst development is his own personality and his appalling attitude to everything around him brings out the worst in the green-thinking teenager until she finds herself locked in a bitter struggle with the man. Primarily to thwart his plans to build the new shopping precinct, but more importantly to bring him down and make him suffer for his incredible arrogance. However, there is just one flaw with her careful planning. She’s falling in love with him.