Paulie has always had to take charge of Merle, his baby half-brother. He might still go to an inner-city Boston elementary school, but he has had to feed and clothe Merle, clean up the apartment, and get everyone ready for years. Their mother, Peg, is perennially drunk, unemployed, smoking, and involved with various men. One day, Paulie comes home to find an envelope of money and a box of cupcakes waiting for him with a message -- his mother has left for Texas with Uncle Mitch, her new boyfriend. In a terrible tantrum, Paulie shreds the envelope and his mother's emergency number. The next day, Paulie decides to get things together. He takes a job bagging groceries at the local Foodland, carries on as usual, and, surprisingly, sees an improvement in his and Merle's daily life. The house is cleaner, the food is better, and they make it to school on time. Angel Ruiz, Paulie's friend from school and Foodland, gives him good advice and helps him stay sane. Considering how often Merle wets the bed -- and worse -- this is no small feat, but somehow, they manage. Except for one postcard, Peg does not call or send them a thing. After about two and a half weeks, their landlord finds out the truth, but, he says, the same thing happened to him, so he won't tell anyone. By this time, Paulie is becoming desperate, both for cash and for a solution to Merle's accidents; he even sends in a question about it to the Boston Globe's advice column. But then, tragedy strikes. Angel, while helping his mother sell drugs, has fallen from a roof and died. The funeral moves Paulie to tears. Later that day, he walks outside in the snow with their last dollar, ready to give up, when he sees two things -- Peg's car in the driveway and, on the street, two innocent, happy kids throwing snowballs down the street. His troubles might be over for the moment, but all he can think about is their fun.