It's not very often that I get to the end of a book and am left unsure as to what just happened. That being said, I'm not sure it was a bad thing. Just a new one.

This is the story of Gabriel, now 20 and dying, as he looks back over his life and childhood, which was far from easy. His parents were always looked down upon in the town, even before his father made himself an enemy of the constable.

Gabriel, who's real name is Anwell, had a lonely childhood. Though he had a brother, Vernon was ill, and couldn't leave his room, or talk. His parents considered him only a burden. Anwell was left worried about him constantly. And then he died.

This left Anwell truly alone. Until the appearance of Finnigan, the wild boy who one day simply appeared, and ever after appeared and disappeared as he chose.

After making a pact that Gabriel would be all things good and Finnigan all things bad, Finnigan spent years tormenting the town with fires. Never caught, he eventually gave up. He had burned everything. There was no more point.

But he had ruined the town. They'd resorted to vigilante mobs. They no longer trusted one another. Things were simply not the same.

Gabriel struggled on, trying to make do with his outcast place in the little world that was his town. His one ray of hope came in the form of Evangeline. Though they never spoke in public or at school, they shared some walks, and random afternoons in the country where they had run into one another.

Finnigan is displeased. Gabriel is at a loss.

To make matters worse, his only other solace, his dog Surrender, has been caught by a farmer attacking his goats. His father says he must do the right thing and kill the dog. It's all more than he can bear.

When he finds himself being led home by his mother, who followed him to Evangeline's, where he was trying desperately to warn her about Finnigan, he knows there's nothing left to lose.