During the Battle of Britain, when the countryside shook under the impact of Nazi bombs, the English government decided to send as many children as possible to Canada and the United States for safekeeping. One of those children was Robby Burns, a duke's son. Robby steps off the ship in New York (up to his bare knees in snow) and discovers that one child's safety may very well be another child's adventure.

Robby's New York protector is a newsman with a penchant for drink and purple prose - and a definite disregard for a young boy's welfare. Almost immediately, Robby is not so much kidnapped as kept by a family that decides the boy might be worth some money to them. He can deal with that, but when he witnesses a murder committed by Tony Savallo, he knows it's time to strike out on his own...with Savallo in hot pursuit.

He finds temporary refuge with a wealthy Park Avenue family, becomes a bagman for a senator on the take, and, finally, finds a moment's respite with a family of twelve in a Harlem tenement. But it is only a moment - Savallo is waiting, ever more impatiently.

Mcdonald's finely-honed, always pointed, dialogue, plus piercing social criticism, is displayed with the author's usual flair.