Jimmy Ford is too young to be a soldier, several years too damn young. But that's only if you measure life by the number of years it has been lived in. Jimmy is a dreamer, a charming boy, curious about the world outside his small town of Brentwood, Essex. With the intensity of the war surging and his bright, ubiquitous thirst for literature and adventure, Jimmy hatches a plan to make it to the Western Front. Little does he know; it is a day which will change his life forever. 1917. Jimmy Ford awakes to find himself confined to Warley Lunatic Asylum. As he gets acquainted with the colourful characters at the asylum, Jimmy's childlike perspective of mental health blossoms into a deeper understanding of human nature. The novel explores the human compulsion to survive, how we bear loss and when in the face of adversity; overcoming fear and finding love is still what we strive for. Flitting between the outdoor serenity of his childhood at the outbreak of World War I and the confines of the asylum walls, with his age and illness against him, will he ever find his purpose?