A time to escape. Twelve-year-old Owen Brand and his family move to Middlecross, a riverside town in rural Canada, hoping to leave poverty and unhappiness behind. A time for innocence Owen meets three local boys, and they soon form an inseparable band. Over the summer holidays they create their own world, a place apart from the adults who watch over them.

Owen also grows close to Jennifer, a fascinating but deeply troubled girl. And a time to grow up. Then the gang stumble across a body in the river - a discovery with unimaginable consequences for them and the town, from which there is no going back.