Brisbane, 1983: A lost father, a mute brother, a mum in jail, a heroin dealer for a stepfather and a notorious crim for a babysitter. It's not as if 13 year old Eli Bell's life isn't complicated enough already. The 'notorious crim' in the story, Slim Halliday, grew up in children's homes. He spent time in prison as an adult, including 27 years for murder. Slim babysits Eli and his brother every Saturday and becomes Eli's best friend.