It is 1916 and Europe is at war. From the poverty of the Dublin slums twelve-year-old Jimmy Conway sees it all as glorious, and loves the British Army for which his father is fighting.

But when war comes to his own streets Jimmy's loyalties are divided. The rebels occupy the General Post Office and other parts of the city, and Jimmy's uncle is among them. Dublin's streets are destroyed, business comes to a halt.

In an attempt to find food for his family, Jimmy crosses the city, avoiding the shooting, weaving through the army patrols, hoping to make it home before curfew. But his quest is not easy and danger threatens at every corner.

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'An impressive first novel'

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'A fine, humane anti-war novel which young people will relish'

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'A sensitive portrayal of a boy's forced and traumatic emergence into adolescence'

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A striking first novel endowed with a strong sense of the conflicting passions of the time. Some of the scenes are as searing as anything in O'Casey's trilogy.