Seventeen-year old Matthew Thwaites is trapped snooping in his father’s study when his father returns home unexpectedly with two strange men. He hides in the only place he can get to in the time - under the desk, but is horrified to see his father gunned down just inches away from him after a disagreement. The man who shot his father is a senior and very corrupt police officer, while the other is a dubious Middle-Eastern man, whose motives are highly suspect.
Given an opportunity to flee, he does so, but finds himself framed for the murder, by the very man who committed it.
Alone, and powerless, he hides out at a busy airport, where he discovers a police manhunt has been initiated with him as their target. His appearance is such that he is mistaken for a girl. Given the idea, he makes the most of this, and goes whole hog into the deception, becoming Monique, his French cousin. He manages to find an ally in an officer investigating corrupt police officers, so together they start to try to piece together the puzzle.
He is then pitched into an international roller coaster ride involving terrorists, corrupt police and double agents.
But Monique is twice the person that Matthew ever was, and given the chance, she decides to take over, for Matthew's body is hiding something that only become apparent much later in the tale.