He's twelve, he's brilliant, and he's completely on his own.
Ranford is the kind of kid you'd walk right past and never notice. Average height, average build, nothing remarkable on the outside. But behind those quiet eyes is a mind that works differently from everyone else's. He finds joy in being wrong, sees danger where others see cuteness, and somehow keeps his two best friends going when life gets heavy. There's Janie, the girl with the too-big glasses and the "Bee Happy" shirt who lights up at the sight of a cardinal. And there's Fernando, a boy so weighed down by troubles that he can barely lift his head.
But middle school has a way of forcing the unremarkable into the spotlight. A bully at Fiore Middle School has Ranford in his sights, and that's only the beginning. Something far more dangerous is lurking just beyond the edges of Ranford's ordinary world. Desperate men, bad men, the kind who plaster on kind smiles while closing in on a boy standing alone. They know his name. They need something from him. And they will not stop.
Ranford is smart. Really smart. But is he smart enough to protect the people he loves when the threats closing in are bigger than anything a twelve-year-old should ever have to face?