Marty Macphee is a fourteen-year-old who has been deserted by his parents and suddenly finds himself having to somehow survive without the help or encouragement of anyone. He is left with an empty house and sixty dollars. His only relative is his grandma who lives 200 miles away and he doesn't know whether she is alive or not. However, he heads out on his bicycle hoping to be able to locate his grandma whom he had a good relationship with eight years ago. He also has a female cousin but he only knows her first name and the town she lives in on his way to see his grandma. Being able to find her seems like a longshot. Marty is a resourceful young man and when he is met with several challenging situations, he manages to cope with them with the help of friends. His biggest challenge is dealing with Spud. After locating his cousin, Martin discovers that his cousin is being stalked by Spud to the point that her life is being constantly disrupted. Together, Martin and his cousin do everything they can to discourage Spud from stalking them but Spud is a very determined character and under the misapprehension that Martin's cousin is his soul mate. Spud is told that he is marching down a dangerous pathway but he ignores all advice to his ultimate detriment.