Ashley's life is turned upside down when her mum's writer-boyfriend moves in. Ben is always poking his nose into things, checking up on Ashley and her brother, Keiran. Ashley's determined that Ben is not going to run her life, after all, he isn't her dad! Then with Ben's help, Keiran gets fit enough to join the school football team, something he's yearned for. And suddenly, Ben and Keiran are best mates. Ashley feels like the odd one out. Upset, she begins to think about the past and why her real dad left home. Maybe it was her fault. Ashley confides her problems to her school friend Lucy, but is overheard by Michelle, who has her own experiences of step-families. Ashley learns the shocking truth about Michelle's ordeal and discovers how Ben and her mum really met. It seems she's got Ben all wrong. Can the man she hates really be a hero.