Trond Sanders

When the reader first meets Trond Sanders he is still very naive and young. He still sees his father as strong and superhuman, a war hero, and a man to be admired and emulated. Trond is a boy who is full of questions, but he does not ask them, trusting that life will eventually work out the answers for him.

Trond is very innocent even in his friendship with Jon. He is flattered that the older boy has taken an interest in him and he can't see that Jon is trying to find a way to get back at him for what his father has done to their family. Trond is completely unaware of his father's relationship with Jon's mother for most of the novel.

As the summer progresses, Trond loses much of his childish notions about life. He finds himself attracted to Jon's mother, and then...