An allegorical tale full of irony and humour. It's Jimmy and John's 18th birthday tomorrow, the day they are supposed to die. It's a heroic, predestined, and selfless ending which is embraced by all. Except, they prefer life and so they embark on a journey away passing through and via several well-known tales. They encounter, "The Three Bears," who don't take kindly to having their porridge eaten on them; a wicked queen/witch and her talking tell-tale, overly truthful mirror; a king besotted with gold and his loving statuesque daughter; and the two purest but ill-fated young lovers of all time, whose fathers try to use the execution of Jimmy and John for their own aims. Each tale carries its own threat which the boys somehow manage to manoeuvre around, before deciding to return home to safety, only to discover a horrendous deceit perpetrated on them by their own fathers. Retreating to their final destination they meet the most glorious, Devine, "love of their lives," a beautiful woman, who deals a severe knockout blow to the slippery serpent. She has a sister who has an intimate fingerprint liaison with John. It's a dream come true. Throughout this journey the friendship of Jimmy and John shines through in spite of many conversational tangles and misunderstandings.