When Andrea first sets foot in the plush Manhattan offices of Runway she knows nothing. She's never heard of the world's most fashionable magazine, or its feared and fawned-over editor, Miranda Priestly.

Soon she knows way too much.

She knows it's a sacking offence to wear less than a three-inch heel to work - but there's always a fresh pair of Manolos in the accessories cupboard.

She knows that eight stone is fat. That you can charge anything - cars, manicures, clothes - to the Runway account, but you must never leave your desk, or let Miranda's coffee get cold. That at 3 am, when your boyfriend's dumping you because you're always working and your best friend's just been arrested, if Miranda phones with her latest unreasonable demand, you jump.

Most of all, Andrea knows that Miranda is a monster boss who makes Cruella de Vil look like a fluffy bunny. But this is her big break, and it's all going to be worth it in the end.

Isn't it?

Lauren Weisberger grew up in Pennsylvania and, after graduating from an Ivy League college, moved to New York to work as an assistant at a fashion magazine. It was there that she drew inspiration for her bestseller, The Devil Wears Prada. Her second novel, Everyone Worth Knowing, was also an international bestseller. Lauren lives in New York.