In September 1944, Phillip Snell, witnesses the death of his mother by a doodle bug bomb. His Grandmother takes charge. The absence of his Father, who has been away at war for the past three years, and an over protective female dominance make him an easy target for bullying. Phillip learns to physically stand up for himself, he finds good friends, notices girls, life is good, until the pressure of returning to work to support him is too much for his Gran and she too dies Now an orphan, Phillip is sent to a children's home where he experiences sexual abuse, his method of dealing with it leads to attempted abduction by a paedophile ring making it necessary for him to be placed under police protection and then into another care home. The British Government's policy of forced emigration for orphaned children to the Colonies finds Phillip on a ship to Australia. On arrival in Perth he is the victim of brutality by members of a religious order. he and a friend abscond and begin a journey that takes them half way across this vast continent. Almost dead from exposure he believes he has found someone to love him, not out of pity or duty but for being Phillip, but then maybe he is just a substitute for a lost son.