Peter's life is already complicated at the start of Dinosaur Summer. His father is a short-tempered alcoholic: "Anthony was often an angry man; it was one of the reasons Peter's mother had left him. Left them."

His mother has moved away and has many excuses for not having Peter live with her. It is no wonder that Peter feels abandoned and that he resents his father's wayward behavior: "there had been times when relying on Anthony was like leaning on the wind." Furthermore, his father, Anthony, leads a peripatetic life, moving his son and himself from place to place as freelance photography jobs arise; they are usually poor, living in run-down apartments.

Although "Alcohol was a puzzle" to Peter, it plays a significant part in his life; his father's alcoholism dooming many a promising venture.

Out of this unpromising situation arises the adventure of a lifetime, one that...