When Jo a confused boy changes schools, bad becomes worse. He tries to improve his reputation, but the slur of criminality is a stain that cannot be removed. He lives in a caravan beside his burnt down home with his grandfather who is proud of Jo’s father who is in prison. His mother has but two intents to stop Jo becoming a criminal, and to keep the police away from her door.

At school, the new boy steps straight in to a snare — Kevin the bully wants his dinner money — William Cackle in class mocks him and a girl called Alice Windowland pursues him for a kiss. Through all this, Jo cannot hide. He has to take the cruel world face on, all helped by a little miracle in his pockets.