"YOU, I mean. You ain't YOU no more --- you're just THE FAT KID.
FAT FAT FAT --- that's ALL you are. You're gone to the RAIN forever
… Get it? Gone."

At first Moo Nelson thinks the kids are just joking around. He had
grown fat, but was he really THAT fat? He begins to understand that
it's no joke --- they really are making fun of him. The badgering
never seems to stop, but he can live through it because it's just
like rain --- it falls on him and then he escapes to a dry
location. The bridge is his secret thinking place where he can sort
through things and leave the rain behind. At least that's what he
thinks until the day everything in his life changes.

Moo, on the bridge one evening, is the unexpected witness to a
murder. At first it's a little like being a celebrity --- everyone
is interested in talking to him, finding out what it was like and
what happened. Then there are the twists and turns. The police want
him to slant his story so they can prosecute Kurt Vine, a known
career criminal. But Vine and his lawyers have ways of making sure
that Moo cooperates with them.

The bribes and threats are pushing him into a very awkward
situation. Moo's family is at risk, his friend Brady is beaten and
Moo finds himself in a frightening dilemma: should he risk telling
the truth, or should he find another way out? What can he do?

As the tensions mount, this grueling situation tears at Moo's sense
of right and wrong. He finally makes a decision that is indeed life
altering and somewhat surprising. But for Moo, who has sought no
adult counsel, this risky course seems to be his best
alternative.

Kevin Brooks again manages to surprise his readers with this
wrenching story of a young man in desperate straits and living on
the edge. Fans of LUCAS and MARTYN PIG are sure to love this
riveting novel.

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