Billy is the self-designated leader of a group of teenagers living in a shelter. Billy's oldest childhood friends live there as well as part of "the family". Billy has an AIDs-like virus, which he has passed on to his brother.

Billy is the self-designated leader of a group of teenagers living in a shelter. Jacob and Rae, Billy's oldest childhood friends, live there as well as part of "the family". Billy has an AIDs-like virus, which he has passed on to his blood brother Jacob. Billy and Rae are boyfriend and girlfriend, much to the dismay of Jacob who has always loved Rae from afar. Billy's philosophy of life, and how that interfaces with having a deadly virus, comes to a head when Billy and Jacob compete in a unique game of "Tag", with the future of Rae and "the family" dependent upon the outcome.—David Ball