Summary

A note at the beginning of Chapter One sets the time and place as Richmond, a city in Australia in the year 1919. In first-person narration, protagonist Charlie notes the powerful storm brewing as he prepares to leave for his first day of school. When he responds to the jokes of his neighbors Mr. Redmond, whom he describes as being like a grandfather to him, his Ma tells him to hurry along. She also tells him to sit in the first row of the classroom, and pay good attention. He promises, and leaves.

As Charlie leaves, he thinks about how cold it is, how the cold makes it much harder to be poor, and how cold was part of what killed his father. He recalls how running through the streets of the city kept him warm, and how he got into the...