'So there we were; until last year we'd have called ourselves an ordinary English family. I mean you may think that Figgis was pretty odd - the way he could get so upset about an injured squirrel or...be so knowledgeable about the South Seas where he'd never been. But everything was fine...'
Everything WAS fine - until, shortly before the beginning of the Gulf War, Figgis (real name Andy) starts talking in his sleep, talking in a strange language that Tom doesn't understand and calling himself 'Latif'.
'Latif' gradually starts to take Figgis over - and Tom begins to understand that Figgis has somehow become another boy, a boy in the Gulf. As the Gulf war progresses, Figgis' situation becomes desperate and Tom realises that only he can save him...
