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As an infant- Jon Mosher tragically lost his older brother to a freak accident - something that could have happened to any family. Theres nothing he could have done to prevent it- but there it is anyway- that loss echoing in every room and painted on the faces of his parents - German Jews whod escaped the war - as if to say: you werent- and arent- enough. Saddled with this absence- Jons life has been defined by whats missing and what he lacks; that is- until in high school he befriends wisecracking Ray- a reckless boy with a volatile father. Against the backdrop of the Summer of Love and the encroaching Vietnam War- Jon dreams of ultimately leaving his grey- blue-collar town- but is set on an irrevocable course as the escalating violence of Rays home life threatens to shatter their bright-eyed plans to escape. Torn between obligation and desire- Jons faced with the impossible decision of whether to help- or run. In this magnificent- haunting novel- Slouka brilliantly captures the polarising forces of a working class- hardscrabble ethos and the hopeful vibrancy of the sixties and early seventies.With concise- wise prose- Slouka weaves together a tapestry of family- fate- friendship- and the impossibility of ever- really- leaving home....