Wallace Emmet Keyes has so many problems he doesn't know which way to turn. Everyone at the new school makes fun of him. His cousin can't stand him. For the last month he's lived with Aunty Jay, Raa and Raiona in a tiny flat in the city instead of at home with his parents. But these are distractions from the big problem: both his mother and father have run away from home. Becoming tough might fix some of that - but it's not until Wallace meets the mysterious Zillah that things change.