Ian Sullivan, a studious and dutiful thirteen-year-old, finds solace and escape from the baking heat of the Australian outback by immersing himself in classic works of fiction. At first, he thinks he has found a kindred spirit when Anthony Messina, the son of the new town butcher, joins St. Kieran's for the start of the 1963 school year. And as a bonus, Anthony's sister Sophia seems to like him as well. While the little Queensland town of Verity Creek embraces the new butcher, Ian gradually realizes that something is very wrong in the Messina home. Normally Ian would turn to his parents for guidance, but he feels directly responsible for two tragedies that may tear his family apart. He is certain his parents want to deal with him as little as possible. Ian is closest to his older sister Mary, but she is over four hundred miles away. Mary sings the praises of the nuns at her boarding school in Townsville so when Ian realizes that Sophia is in real danger, he convinces her that they need to escape and find sanctuary at St. Brigid's. In the year when his life turns upside down, Ian learns that figuring out what's true and then doing what's right are the hardest things about growing up.
