in september 1998, at the age of 14, duffy was briefly put in a police safe house when authorities uncovered a plot by her stepfather's ex-wife to pay an assassin £3,000 to kill her stepfather, philip smith. smith's ex-wife, dawn watson, was sentenced to a 3½-year jail term for soliciting to murder. "i was so terrified. i felt so ill", duffy recounted in 2008, as reported by the "nme" and "the sun". duffy describes living in the safe house as a dog-eat-dog, claustrophobic and isolating experience. aged 15, she ran away back to her father's home in nefyn. duffy said in retrospect, "it was a horrendous thing to do." her mother and her sisters did not speak to her for about a year afterward. in reaction to her parents' break-up, her next three years were a rebellious period that included binge drinking and stealing a rowing boat.