Teased his entire life by his family, Cristofer feels emasculated as the smallest and youngest boy in his immediate family. At a family get-together, he encounters Yali, a family friend, who has two broken fingers from the last time they were playing together. He had been trying to show her a trick on the swings, but her fingers got caught on the metal chains instead. After dinner, while the adults all dance in the main room, ten-year-olds Cristofer and Yali have managed to sneak away alone together. Exploring sex, they touch one another's bodies, eager to learn more about their budding sexuality. They grind against each other, Cristofer thinking that his experience is what will make him a man.