One moment Harriet's only problem is that she's not allowed to get her nose pierced, and the next her dad's disappeared. Now there's a new home, a new school and new friends that are not really friends at all. Awkward Alice who forgets her lunch is not a great substitute, nor is the monster gnawing at Harriet's insides that makes her binge eat.

But then Alice invites her to the best tree fort ever – a place where Harriet no longer feels fat or friendless or sad, and where the bird with the rusty-red feathers comes to show her what she can't see for herself.