The story, set in the mid-[[1950s]], revolves round a [[gang]] of boys called Wormsley Common, the place where they live. BeowolfTrevor, or BT, the [[protagonist]], devises a plan to destroy a 200-year-old house that survived [[the Blitz]], simply because it is beautiful. Under their leader, Blackie, the gang accepts the plan and carries it out when the owner of the house, Mr Thomas (whom the gang refers to as Old Misery), is away during a [[Bank Holiday]] weekend. The plan is to destroy the house from the inside, and then tear down what remains of the infrastructure. Mr Thomas returns home early, and the gang locks him in his own outhouse and completes the destruction of his home. T refuses to stop until the job is complete, because even the facade is valuable and could be reused.{{endspoiler}}
