The whole story centers around the 14-year-old Alem Kelo. He is a boy born of an Ethiopian father and an Eritrean mother at a time when the two countries were at war with each other. His father takes him to London to be safe. There he has to fight for his status as a refugee. Alem and his father had to leave Ethiopia or die, so Alem's father (Mr Kelo) had to move to the United Kingdom. 