The novel's narrator, Laurie Corday, a thirteen-year-old English boy, does not get along terribly well with his family. He resents the fact that they moved in with his grandmother, Martha, who owns an antique shop in Exeter, when his own mother left the family some years before. His grandmother is neither warm nor affectionate. In addition, Laurie cannot stand his seven-year-old half-sister, Angela, who seems to get everyone's attention, and his stepmother, Use, who is Swiss. Laurie's father, Martin, who sells real estate, appears weak and seems easily dominated by others.

However, one of the novel's main ideas is that people are not always what they seem and that, when faced with great difficulties, they may show unsuspected courage. It turns out that Laurie's grandmother is strong and protective. At one point she pulls a gun on Laurie's Uncle Ian and cousin, Nathaniel, to...