Helen is an artistic, intelligent, fourteen-year-old who has been brought up to be honest, and to follow the rules.

Her character is well developed from the first page when she snaps shut the padlock on her locker without first trying the combination. After several unsuccessful attempts to unlock it, she is hesitant to tell a helpful classmate the combination because the instructions said not to tell your combination to any other student. Throughout the book, Helen is faced with moral decisions with more serious consequences as she becomes involved in solving the mystery of the Punk Rock Thrower. As a freshman who looks younger than she is, Helen tries to prove herself in a world that seems full of seniors. Helen lives with her father and a well-meaning, but overprotective aunt. Although her mother died when Helen was four, Helen senses her mother's presence...