Lily DeVries has survived abhorrent cruelty at the hands of her parents, those who should have showered her with love instead of the sexual abuse that left her with multiple- personality disorder. Upon the news of her grandparents' death, Lily recedes into the dark corners of her mind allowing another personality to take over. Dr. Irene Cogan loves Lily. She's treated her, all these years, for her disorder and was once a hostage of Ulysses Maxwell. Events lead Lily on a path that eventually places her in a mental institution in Oregon where she meets another who was abused as a child, Ulysses Maxwell, whose alter personality has killed many people.

Dr. Al treats Ulysses with shock treatment, an unconventional and unapproved form of therapy, to eradicate the alter personalities. Lyssy, the original personality of Ulysses Maxwell, is a living example to Dr. Al that his process has been successful. Now he wants to help Lily by shocking her when one of her dangerous personalities is active.

Inside Lyssy, other dormant personalities lay waiting, patient to the extreme. Max has silently waited for two years to make his escape from the institution to take over Lyssy's body and get revenge for a previous capture by E. L. Pender, a retired FBI agent turned investigator.

Lily's dangerous alter personality comes to the forefront and assists Lyssy to escape. The two lovers hide, leaving death behind them at each stop. Lyssy and Lily do fall in love with each other. In the end, both Dr. Cogan and Pender find the couple in the mountains hiding in Lily's family cabin. The questions arise as to which personality is in the forefront for Lily and Ulysses. Events spiral to a frightening closure.

WHEN SHE WAS BAD explores the intricate workings of the brain and relationships. How much pain can we take before our brain seeks to protect us by splitting into other personalities? Jonathan Nasaw writes a thriller that accelerates to an electrifying conclusion sure to entertain and make you think about man's psyche.