A young boy, about to leave the comfort and security of primary school and venture into the teenage world of secondary school, has a very different summer school holiday. Living in the poorest part of a small country town, his family is doing it tough, although he knows no different as that has been the way it has been for all his twelve years on the planet. With his father away from home for long periods, he has had to be the man of the house quite often. The events of the summer showed him just what that really entailed. By summer's end he has changed markedly as a stranger enters his life. His older sister and his three younger brothers and even his mother become even closer to him through that stranger. It was a most unusual summer, a time of transformation and coming of age.
