The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Kelman, Stephen. Pigeon English. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2011.

Stephen Kelman's novel Pigeon English is written from the protagonist 11-year-old Harri's first person point of view. The narrative employs the past and the present tenses and traces five consecutive months in Harri's life. In spite of the chronological narrative scaffolding, Harri's stream of consciousness smears the narrative's temporal and spatial representations. The following summary relies upon the present tense and a linear mode of explanation.

Harri immigrates to England from Ghana with his mother, father, grandmother, older sister Lydia, and baby sister Agnes. He and his family move into an urban housing estate made up of three towering buildings. Harri's family lives on the ninth floor of the building called Copenhagen House. After traveling so far, Harri is curious about his new home, neighbors, and neighborhood.

Then one day, Harri is horrified to hear that a boy around his age was violently murdered outside a local fast food restaurant. He and his friend Jordan report to the scene of the crime. They study the dead boy's blood on the ground outside the establishment, daring each other to get closer and touch it. Harri is moved by the scene and the way the dead boy's mother seems to be guarding her son's blood.

Harri and his second-best friend Dean decide to launch an amateur police investigation into the dead boy's murder. Because Dean has watched all of the American police and detective shows, he knows everything there is to know about solving such a mystery. He teaches Harri about fingerprints, surveillance cameras, police interviews, and DNA. Over time, all of these details and tactics make their way into the boys' investigative work. Soon Harri turns his bedroom into their police headquarters, hiding their evidence, clues, and notes inside.

Meanwhile, Harri and his friends are constantly trying to evade the Year 11 gang, called the Dell Farm Crew. Members of the gang include X-Fire and Killa. The boys are constantly teasing and bullying Harri and his friends. They dare them to pull fire alarms, to throw bottles at elderly neighbors, or to break cameras so they can steal beer from the local markets. Whenever the Dell Farm Crew tries to capture or threaten Harri, he knows he can escape by running away. He is one of the fastest boys in his school and neighborhood.

The more Harri and Dean work on the investigation, the more their clues point to Killa as the culprit. Despite the evidence they have against him, they are unsure if they should turn him in without more proof. Then one day they find a parcel outside on the walk. Inside the parcel, they discover the dead boy's wallet and photograph. Harri decides that if they take the photograph to the basketball court, one of the dead boy's favorite places to hang out, they might be able to call his spirit back and ask him who killed him. While trying to put this plan into action, Killa and X-Fire show up and threaten them. Killa's demeanor changes when he sees the photograph. When he later notices Harri stealing his fingerprints and trying to collect his DNA, he traps him in the bathroom and threatens him.

On the last day of school, Harri is filled with excitement and anticipation. It is summer and he is free. He and Dean are going to turn Killa in to the police. Soon he will be home and safe. While running from the schoolyard back to the flats, however, Harri's excitement keeps him from noticing Killa in the tunnel. As soon as Harri sees him, he realizes Killa wants to hurt him. Killa stabs Harri with a screwdriver and runs away. Harri lies on the ground clutching his stomach. He tries to remember his baby sister's face, unable to keep his eyes open any longer.