Edwina is an old-school battler. Her life revolves around the church and her job unpacking vegetables early in the morning, while around her a new generation turns Ponsonby into a trendy, uber-chic suburb. It is a chance win in a church raffle - a gym membership - that changes her life. She meets different people; makes a new young friend named Rose, and transforms herself: a metamorphosis, Rose calls it.
And then Edwina is murdered.
Detective Alex Cameron and his team, Jerry and Marion, investigate. It's a casual comment from Rose which sends them trawling through Edwina's childhood - a time when Ponsonby was tougher, poverty carved a deep scar, and some people would do anything to escape . . .