Nicola Owen was a model child in a model family. By the age of 14 she was a beautiful, talented young woman with a future as a dancer ahead of her. Over the next four years, however, things began to change. A compulsive eater, suffering extreme mood swings, she committed bizarre acts of destruction and self-mutilation. At 18 she was obese and apparently uncontrollable and was later remanded in Holloway Prison for twice committing arson on her family's home. What happened next was to make legal history. Through research and determination, Pamela and Ed Owen unearthed the true cause of the changes they had witnessed in their daughter: an undiagnosed medical illness - premenstrual syndrome. So began the battle to persuade the courts to give Nicola a second chance. This book describes the experiences of Nicola and her family.