In 1984, 11-year-old Boy lives with his grandmother, brother, and four cousins on a New Zealand farm. His mother is dead and his father, Alamein, is in jail.. Then Alamein escapes from jail and arrives at the farm, with two sidekicks, just when the grandmother is away for about a week. Boy is grateful for an opportunity to bond with his father, but all Alamein is there for is to find the stolen money he buried.—grantss