Frank Cauldhame

Frank Cauldhame is a 16-year-old who lives with his father on an island off the coast of Scotland. He kills animals and mounts their heads on long poles—he calls them Sacrifice Poles—which he plants around the island to serve as his sentries. They are intended to scare off visitors and alert him to danger. The book is written in first person and allows the reader to know all of Frank's thoughts. He recollects how he killed three members of the Cauldhame family, noting that they were all about the same age as he when he killed them.

Frank has never been to school but has been educated by a form of home-schooling. His father is apparently brilliant having been a scientist before his retirement. Frank feels he has received a better education than kids who attend school. Strangely, Frank does not officially exist...