Chosen in a British poll as one of the 100 most important books of the 20th century, this 1984 novel about a family's strange and repulsive secret has become a cult classic. Sixteen years old, Frankie has developed behavioral patterns involving the ritualistic killings of animals and insects to help predict daily events. As each successive day pass, Frankie receives phone call from older half-brother, Paul, who has escaped from an institution and is working his way home.