In the next hour, three more girls would experience those same mixed emotions: fear and fulfilment. Kevin Bates had no idea he was already father to five children - nor would he have cared.Nudging fifteen and weighing in at 12 ½ stone, Kev tyrannises his gang - the Bears - with fear and fists, just as he tyrannises his siblings at home and the classroom at Lockwood Comp. Kev's life is filled with sex, booze and hate. until he meets Maria. Yes! But what if Maria says 'No'? What if Kev is forced to think about something beyond the now? Someone outside himself?Tersely executed, this modern morality story breaks open the harsh underbelly of life on a tough northern housing estate, and the impossible fight to break free.