A story of the coming of age of a country and a boy, at the time of Barbados' independence from Britain in 1966. 14-year-old Christopher Lucas and Stephanie King have been neighbours and best friends since they were born a few months apart. They have been raised by their impoverished grandmothers after their mothers went "over 'n' away" to the United States and Canada to find work when the children were toddlers; no one has heard from the mothers since. Through a series of triumphs and catastrophes, Christopher and Stephanie determine their places in the world and take control of their lives.