François Fournier is a troubled ten-year-old who has been in foster care since he was four. But his is a "temporary placement," meaning that his parents can come back for him any time. They never do. The story begins with François being shuffled from one foster home to another, as his insecurity leads him to engage in increasingly destructive behavior. He is placed with an older couple named Thierry, the newest addition to a ménage that includes Mrs. Thierry's mother, a very young girl, and a high-school age boy. They aren't afraid to share their lives with this new houseguest, and the impressionable boy seems to be settling down. For François, things just are what they are--and he's usually "temporary." A fascinating portrait of childhood, which is also an indictment of a failing social system.