Tony Hoskins is sent to a Canadian boarding school at the age of 12 due to the continual bombing of London, where his family lives. His father, Lt. Gerald Hoskins of the Royal Navy, is acutely aware of the dangers. In London, Tony attended the Cacketts School, where he excelled academically but was bullied by the other boys. As the Cackett boys embark on the 14-day journey across the Atlantic, many of them are terrified. Tony, however, is more nervous about how the other boys will treat him. An older boy, Rasson-Pier, is the leader of the group. He is assigned to room with Tony. Rasson-Pier is a show-off and enjoys doing handstands on the ship's deck. One night, Rasson-Pier climbs into Tony's bed and sexually assaults Tony. While the other boys lay in bed with seasickness, Tony explores the ship and sees a Gypsy family stowing away on board. The next night, Rasson-Pier finds Tony hiding. Tony points out the Gypsy woman and she leads Rasson-Pier back to her quarters. In the morning, Rasson-Pier warns Tony that if he says anything about what happened two nights prior, Rasson-Pier would tell people that Tony enjoyed it. That night, Tony sees Rasson-Pier performing acrobatics with the woman when suddenly he sees a kind of electrical ball illuminate the ship and Rasson-Pier falls overboard. While Tony writes all of this in his journal, he doesn't tell anyone exactly what he saw out of fear, believing the electricity was a divine intervention by the Trinity. When the boys arrive at the Canadian school, there is an investigation into what happened to Rasson-Pier. Tony refuses to hand over his journal, which also documents the sexual abuse, and is therefore named a suspect by Rasson-Pier's parents and his classmates. In Canada, Tony struggles to make friends and get into trouble for intentionally adding notes while playing the organ during a school service. Despite this, Tony's headmaster believes Tony and encourages him academically. During his first summer, a bullying incident occurs. So, the next summer, Tony is sent to a farm. While there, Tony matures and begins to love Canada. When he returns to school, someone steals his journal and hands copies out to everyone else. Although the theft is upsetting, Tony's name is cleared from the investigation. The war ends but rather than return to London, Tony asks to stay and graduate from the Canadian school.