The book A Separate Peace is about two boys and their doubtful friendship. In the beginning, Gene and Phineas (often called Finny) are as close as brothers, but a horrible accident soon tears them apart. Afterwards, their friendship adopts a false quality and is never the same again. Throughout the story, Gene (the protagonist) suffers from his always changing friendship with Phineas, which includes jealousy, fatal accidents, and adolescent emotions. In the end, it leads to Phineas's death.
The story is set in Devon School for Boys during World War II. It is Summer Session and the boys in Gene and Phineas's class are free to do whatever they want. Phineas is the leader of the two, and he is the best sportsman in the whole school, although he is not in the senior class. Phineas also possesses an amazing charisma, and is able to talk himself out of anything. On the other hand, Gene is just an average sports player but has a very high intelligence. Gene follows Phineas around, and they are the best of friends. Phineas starts the Super Suicide Society, where all the members have to jump out of a tree into a creek, and invents the game of blitzball. Gene's devoting loyalty to his best friend blinds him from all of the suffering that his friendship is pulling him through. .
After the terrible accident that causes Phineas to be unable to play sports for the rest of his life, their friendship adopts a false quality. Gene does not confide in Phineas as much as he used to, especially since he feels that it is his fault that his best friend was paralyzed. They still are quite close, until one night when Gene and Phineas are called to a mock trial, where Gene is accused of pushing Phineas out of the tree. Phineas leaves in a rush, and ends up falling down the stairs, which ultimately kills him. In the end, Gene says that "I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy.