Summary

The novel begins one summer morning as Reuben Pedley and his mother started their day. His mother hastily departed for work. His father had died in a factory accident when he was a baby. Reuben also snuck out of the building and explored a unfamiliar area of the Lower Downs section of the city. He explored a new street and looking for places in which to hide, his favorite way to spend the day. Reuben felt great about not being seen by a man who looked right at him while peering out his door and surveying the neighborhood.

Reuben soon noticed a very narrow alley where two buildings were extremely close together. He decided to scale the building by placing his hands on one wall and his feet on the other and walk up the...