What made Dylan's life so difficult to cope with? Like so many other insecure, sensitive fourteen-year-olds, Dylan confronts the usual series of problems, but his seem more stressful than most. Firstly, he needs to adapt to a new, large city school in Perth after moving from a small rural community down south; then he suffers being victimised by a remorseless school bully, not to mention by his inconsiderate siblings, who allow him little personal space; and, finally, he faces a tyrannical teacher who makes his schooling seem like hell. So, when a weird alien visitor – Orf – enters his life, he scarcely believes that everything begins to change for the better.

Orf teaches him how to tap into his latent powers and listen to his intuitive voice. Despite some embarrassing failures, Dylan not only learns to manage his own troubles but ends up assisting some of his classmates with their challenging dilemmas. But where does all this learning lead him? Why did this teacher appear? Could this mentor have his own, secret agenda?