When a girl who haunted his childhood steals a pair of Carter Johnson's shoes, he knows that she is different to anyone else- he knew it from the moment he heard her name. Through their teenage years, Ataraxy takes Carter on a whirlwind of adventures- from trick-or-treating in a gang infested estate, to ninja-scaling the tallest building in the city in order to set fireworks from the top, to running away from home for a week on a detective-style mission to find a missing girl. However, no matter how close they get, she refuses to tell him why she stole his shoes in the first place. Until she vanishes just before her sixteenth birthday. At eighteen, Carter finally finds one of his shoes in the least likely place he'd expect it, leading him on a journey to find out exactly where his best friend has gone. On the way, he discovers just how quickly someone's life can change, and begins to solve the greatest mystery of his life- Ataraxy Smith.