Robert Swindells is clever at writing the story, as he switches between the two characters link and shelter, the characters in the story are all different and lead very different lives, Shelter who used to be in the army left after problems, now he believes that he is still in the army and is on a mission to kill people especially homeless people on the streets, he makes his own recruits and then kills them brutally, he believes that he is making the place look tidier and cleaner.
Then there is Link, Link has had a lot of trouble at home, and he has left his family and friends to lead a better life on the streets of London, though he is finding it hard to survive, and has had trouble rationing the money he had. He finds himself in London, he barely survives as he finds a bed mate called ginger, however when ginger suddenly disappears link is all back on his own in the great city of London, then he meets Gail, but then a again like all the people he meets, he finds that she is a reporter.
Robert Swindells makes this book interesting, by making the suspense last, and he uses complex vocabulary to create an atmosphere, he brings shelter to life, he creates link by bringing him into shelter and into the insecure street life of London, he makes you feel sad and puts your feelings and puts them in the story, he makes you feel sorry of Link by showing and emphasizing that this boy is now on the streets as he has made a mess of his life.
And now at the very end in London alone he lives, with a broken heart, no lover or friend, however he is now more street wise and he understands not to fall into the arms of anyone and get attached to