"I wasn't the same girl that had left London pining for my Whistles dress, and my high heels, or the one who had gone to Pai, in love and counting down the days until I went home." Ruby Jones would rather have a designer handbag than a backpack. Ruby doesn't 'do' backpacking. But that is exactly what she finds herself doing when her boyfriend buys her a round-the-world trip for her birthday.
Horrified at first by the chaos, smells and woeful accommodation, Ruby surprisingly begins to enjoy herself. She finds herself zipping around Thailand on a moped; swimming in the sea at dawn after a full moon party and elephant trekking in the jungle.
However, Ruby's world is suddenly turned upside down and she finds herself alone and scared in the middle of Southeast Asia. Ruby decides to continue her journey alone. But will she be able to finish the journey by herself? Will she be able to overcome a catastrophe unlike anything she's experienced before? And in so doing, will she discover a different Ruby Jones?