Enter the darkly humorous, insightful, surreal and brutally honest worlds of boys as they climb from the hollows of their youth into the world of men. On their way to an imperfect redemption, and with a determined spirit of compassion, these 39 boys and those who at times narrate their stories for them must pass through the formidable shadows of deprivation and war with only an intensely lyrical and allegorical lamp to light the way.