In 1969 to dodge the Vietnam draft young Neil Riley takes a job teaching 6th grade in South Harlem. He knows nothing about teaching. Yet to his immense surprise he finds himself driven to prepare his students for the gritty way that lies ahead. In the process he learns to open himself to both love and friendship. With humor, romance, pathos and wry observations of the customs of an inner city school, the novel follows the transformation of a raw youth into a caring adult.