It tells the story of an urban Māori family, the Hekes, and portrays the reality of domestic violence in New Zealand.

Beth reflects that neither she nor anyone else she knows has any books at home, and her daughter, Grace, is the only character with a real interest in school and learning.

There he is in his element, buying drinks, singing songs and savagely beating any other patron whom he considers to have stepped out of line (hence his nickname 'The Muss').

He cares about his siblings but despises his father for his thoughtless brutality, a feeling returned by the elder Heke.

Grace's best friend is a drug-addicted boy named Toot who has been cast out by his parents and lives in a wrecked car.

Jake, a suspect, leaves his family and starts living in a park, where he reflects on his life and befriends a homeless young man.

In his 1999 autobiography, Out of the Mist and Steam, he describes his Māori mother (and most of her relatives) as alcoholic, irresponsible and physically and emotionally abusive.