The novel is set in the not too distant future in a country that the reader is led to believe is the United States, although this is never actually confirmed in the narrative. In this future society, the Government has passed a Population Law which makes it illegal for any couple to have more than two children; the penalty for breaking the Population Law is death for the parents, and for the illegal child. Luke Garner, the main character in the novel, is an illegal third child and just prior to the opening of the story leaves his parents’ farm in order to avoid being discovered and arrested by the Population Police.

Luke is brought to Hendricks School for Boys, a private boarding school for wealthy children, where he lives under the name Lee Grant. With the exception of one scene that takes place in...