In 1908 Alfio Gatti's mother is forcibly removed from the family's Queensland cane farm, to exile on Peel Island. A year later ten-year-old Alfio is also taken. For the first time he hears the word leper and experiences the loathing and fear his condition creates. Peel Island becomes his harsh sanctuary. Among fellow sufferers, a drunk, a teacher, a playmate he discovers love, friendship and fun, but there is also prejudice and tragedy to endure. As Alfio grows from naive boy to adolescent he learns to cheat the system and escape the lies he must tell to hide his affliction.