The book is presented as a diary written by a 14-year-old girl, Marina. Marina was the victim of an incident that is initially unknown to the reader, but we are told she refused to talk to anyone during her long recovery period in hospital, and was sent to Warrington, a girls' boarding school, because nothing else appeared to be working. But even after her arrival, she maintains her silence. Then, one day, her English teacher Mr. Lindell encourages the class to keep journals. Even though Marina is determined not to make use of her diary, she cannot resist writing about some of the seemingly trivial events of her day.
However, the content of her entries becomes more and more revealing over time, and readers can better understand Marina's world: how her friends and teachers create profound and lasting impressions on her psyche. Marina goes from not interacting with others at all, opening up and socialising, and eventually finding non-verbal communication methods. It is revealed throughout the novel, first through subtle clues on her reactions to movies and comments from her classmates before an outright confession that Marina has a scarred face because she was the victim of an incident involving acid, inflicted by her father, who was aiming for her mother. However, as the book continues, Marina's negative feelings towards her father fade away, and by the end of the book, she devises a plan which enables her to see him again. When she speaks for the first time, she speaks her only words for the entire novel: "Hello, Dad... I've got so much to tell you..."
