It is 1968. Kingston, in an emerging garrison community. Roderick Brissett, an abandoned boy, finds himself marooned in a world of child labor and cruelty. His main nemesis, Aunt Hope threatens to destroy his youth. It would be his friend Chloe, herself an adolescent, who expands his world with the irresistible gift of books. Roderick finds other allies in the elders, Rastafarians and a Warner Woman. Will he unravel the painful family secrets that caused his mother's unthinkable actions? Will he build resilience or will he surrender to the lure of the dark streets of Kingston? A powerful examination of education, class, culture, kinship care and their effects on the adolescent.