 The setting of the book () is Wright's high school Alma Mater Punahou School.The novel provides insight into the tumultuous 60s and 70s in multicultural Honolulu, from the viewpoint of a white ("haole") boy narrator searching for his identity in this private school.His rites of passage include losing the girl of his dreams, not living up to his father's great expectations, surviving Killahaole Day, being suspended, sibling rivalry, fighting the school bully, and navigating the tricky waters of interracial dating.