Alienated, bullied, a classic underachiever, 12-year-old Brendan retreats into his fantasy world and then faces the long and demanding journey to a real world where he belongs. Brendan doesn't get along with his foster mother, is failing 6th grade, and is being bullied mercilessly by delinquent boys. When he meets two new friends, an eccentric old man and a girl from summer school, and he feels hope. The plot contains violence.