The story of a troubled 12-year-old child, Benjamin Moorhouse, who is strangely attached to a stuffed letter H, which he names Elliot. In this debut novel, Shepard explores this boy's condition through the eyes of his mother, his psychiatrist, and camp counselors, none of whom recognize what may be a form of fragile genius. Burdened with rituals that dictate how he executes everything from his first kiss to preparing a meal, Benjamin engages with the world in a strangely fascinating manner that, if disturbed, may end in his self-destruction.