This is the story of Aris Ball, a young boy whose life is tossed about by circumstance and fate and who constantly seeks to sort some meaning out of its tangle. He searches inside himself and he searches outside himself. He wants to be one of them, but he's not sure who they are. He wants to belong, to fit in. He wants to find out why other kids make fun of him and call him names.

His source of truth is his uncle Joshua, whom he believes at first is his father. Joshua would sort things out for him, telling him what was the truth and what was made up stuff.

Aris also believes he may have two mothers, but he isn't sure of that. He discovers that he can learn a lot by listening at doors, especially when there's an argument going on. But, as his uncle Joshua had predicted, he eavesdropped once too often. He finds out that Max got his head cracked wide open, but he doesn't know who Max is or why he got his head cracked wide open. He learned some things about himself, too that he didn't know before. Ultimately success comes by fate from a chance meeting in an alley. And it comes from one avenue he didn't explore, his own ignorance.