Life isn't so hard, Emma. Just be who they want you to be... For fifteen year old Emma Bastien, life should be simple. Make friends with the popular kids. Excel at something. It worked for her brother, after all. He was a hero. But now her brother is dead, her closest friendship is destroyed, and her social circle is starting to resemble a grotesque group of bullies and snobs. Her father barely notices her, and her mother makes her feel like the entire weight of her brother's absence in on Emma's shoulders. So when Emma's ex-best friend, Rebecca, joins a drum corps, Emma does too. What better way to impress her withdrawn parents and mend a broken friendship? But it soon becomes obvious that things might not be so easy. Drum corps is hard. Really hard. The normal rules for popularity don't seem to apply. And despite the best of intentions, she can't seem to get on anyone's good side. Well, aside from the corps' director, that is. But attracting special attention from the drum corps' elusive leader only seems to complicate Emma's plight. Emma can't seem to figure out who to trust on her march to success, or what success even means any more. Will Emma mend old wounds and find her place in the spotlight? Or, more importantly, will she find herself?