Robbie's most special friend is his grandfather, who teaches him all he knows of the countryside and the old country ways. But signs of the modern world are all around -- the first television has appeared in the village and Hawker Hunters scream through the air, but it is the old man and the boy who leap to the rescue when modern technology fails. Time, though, cannot stand still, and even after the death of his beloved grandfather life must go on. With the coming of summer, Robbie's wicked escapades with that wild tinker boy strengthen a friendship that fills the void left by the old man's passing. In this wonderful story Emil Pacholek brings the characters and the countryside to life in a particularly vivid way.