The book is written by a nameless narrator who receives news his childhood protagonist has died in prison. A coming of age thriller set in a small village in Essex. The narrator reminisces about his childhood and another boy he grew up with, Robert. Robert was different from the other children. As they grow up other children start to have 'accidents' but the adults seem unwilling to intervene. The narrator feels increasingly as if he has to investigate who Robert really is but as things progress all is not as it appears...