Lauren's already struggling when her mum becomes seriously ill.
Then she meets Buster, a rescue dog with unpleasant habits, who makes all the difference.
Lauren is having a tough summer: her final school assessment card suggests she shouldn’t hold out hope of getting any decent GCSE grades. Then her mum announces she has cancer and they need to operate immediately.
Lauren’s dad and his new girlfriend are back in town to help out while mum’s in hospital, but everywhere she looks Lauren sees things crumbling around her and she starts remembering things in the past she thought she’d left behind.
Then there’s Buster, an unwanted dog at the Rescue Centre where Lauren works, waiting for some paperwork to come through so that he can be PTS. He’s been classified as ‘aggressive and unpredictable’ and Lauren's asked if she could look after him: a hassle she could do without.
Lauren ignores the fact that she seems to have developed the ability to talk to animals (she’s got enough on her plate without worrying about whether she’s having a breakdown), but Buster turns out to be the one who keeps her sane.
He’s the one who’s there for her that summer and his love never falters.