Summary

At the start of the two-day August Bank Holiday in post-World War II London a group of boys who call themselves the Wormsley Common Gang accepts a new member without the usual initiation ritual. The acceptance of Trevor, who is fifteen, is unexpected for several reasons. His name, the fact that his father had been an architect before the war and was now a clerk, and that his mother, despite their coming down in the world, still believes that she is better than her neighbors, are all factors that would ordinarily make him an outcast among the streetwise boys. However, they see a dangerous and unpredictable quality in Trevor that makes him acceptable to them. They refer to him as "T." to avoid his upper-class name, and T. ultimately vies with Blackie, the gang's leader, for the top position among the...