Willie Beech is an eight-year-old maltreated child. He is evacuated to the city of London, to the small countryside village of Little Weirwold. He is billeted with Mr Tom Oakley a forty-year-old widower. Tom is disconnected from the rest of the village due to the unfortunate tragedy's he's had to face and suffer from. Slowly and gradually Willie forms a father-son relationship with Tom. This builds throughout and ends in happiness for both of them as they forget their past lives and become part of the community.
Will is emotionally very sensitive and embarrassed. Every night, for sometime, he wets the bed. This is because he didn't settle in properly and was nervous. That then caused embarrassment when he had to tell Mr Tom about his "little problem." Toms understanding and support during this time helped Willie to overcome it. Also it shows good parenting skills. .
The way Wills mother brought him up doesn't help. She told him many lies just so he"d be scared, more controllable and better behaved. Several years of this cruel "treatment" lead Willie to think that most families were like his. He"d never even realised before that things she"d said may not even be true.
When William first came to the village, Tom had no choice over having an evacuee, so couldn't say no. I think Tom noticed the difference in Wills behaviour compared to other children and couldn't understand why he was that way at first. But, as his back round is revealed in the story, Tom grows sympathy, kindness and love towards the bewildered boy. .
The villager's reaction to William is just to welcome him, and the other evacuees, because they realise how hard it is on them. But soon people begin to grow fond of him for the person that he really is inside. .
As this true person begins to open up, he also makes friends more his own age, George, Carrie, Ginny and most of all Zach. The relationship with the other children grows and he feels something he"d never felt before, true friendship.
