This is the story of Julian Reed, a 13-year old boy attending Saint Maximus the Confessor Catholic School in the early 1980s. Saint Maximus is an all-boys boarding school that shares a wall with another institution for "troubled cases" called Cedar Tree House. Cedar Tree House is shrouded in mystery, as discussing it is frowned upon by the Benedictine monks who make up most of the teaching staff at Julian's school. There is no contact between the two institutions, at least not as far as the students are concerned.
It's late August, the semester has not even started, and only a few students and faculty members are present when Julian discovers a tiny hole in an isolated corner of the wall separating Saint Maximus from Cedar Tree House. The hole is just big enough for him to see a pair of blue eyes. They belong to a girl who soon becomes his closest confidante.
The opportunity to spend time with a girl, albeit separated by a wall, is a welcome distraction from Julian's routine, but it will...