Sixteen year old Barney Snow is one of several patients in a medical unit for terminally ill teenagers for whom experimental treatments are developed and administered. The tragic, bleak circumstances do not confine the idealism of youth who know they have little remaining time. In other novels, Cormier has examined elements of evil or destruction in society; the only enemy in this novel is death. Involvement and action on behalf of others contribute to the survival of the human spirit under otherwise intolerable circumstances. The myth of Sisyphus, the Dumas novel THE CORSICAN BROTHERS and the philosophy of Nietzche, Camus and Sartre are internal references for readers wishing to explore para1lels, symbols, metaphors and ideas beyond the absorbing, moving and memorable story. (Age 13 and older)