Who attacked Emily Clay, out alone on a cold winter's night back in 1966? Why is Mary Fortune hiding away? In 1980s Oxfordshire, Chancery School teacher Mr Daley's unorthodox methods cause uproar, as childhood friends and fourth-graders Stuart Lockwood and Paul Winters soon discover. Their friendship will be tested; their future shaped through bullying, treachery, and lies. The past collides with the present, ultimately leading to a shocking revelation.