Nat Winters is 19 when she joins the Victorian Police Force out of “spite”. A creepy guy she knocks back says she doesn’t have the guts to do it, so she sits all the tests including the physical exam & shocks all her friends & family & boyfriend by announcing it on her 19th birthday. The book is set in the first 12 months after she joins – academy life, first traffic duty & the cnr of Swanston & Flinders St, first dead body on Xmas day, first domestic & first attack & arrest. All the while she is not sure about herself & Jamie & then there’s her brother Luke’s arrest for Drunk & Disorderly & whether her feelings for her partner Daniel are more than just good friends. Absorbing look at behind the scenes Police work in Melbourne (Author is a cop).p.143-147[The practical jokes].