Impact

Post-war, July 1945, and Bill Wilson’s evacuation is over. He must return to a dirty and damaged London, many heart-pounding miles away from the foster home he loves. His favourite uncle is back from the war, but so strange and different. Why does he avoid fellow soldiers and act weirdly? Worse, his manipulative cousin Kenneth is to share Bill’s Wandsworth home. As the two boys struggle through adolescence and the severe austerity of the 1940s, Kenneth sets out to be top dog. Everything Bill has, everything he does, everything he values, Kenneth grasps. Tensions rise to a climax and the emotional explosion has a terrible fall-out. Now there is trauma and life-change for all in Bill's world. How can he resolve matters and how long must he live with the suspense of retribution?