Winner of The Guardian’s Not The Booker 2011. ‘A brilliant novel. One of the best debuts I have read in years.’ David Peace. Paul Cooper is an outsider. When he looks at people he wonders what bird they are. He finds making friends difficult especially when he has to move from school to school, so he obsesses about ornithology until he meets Ashley. Ashley is everything Cooper isn't, he's tough and good looking, with so much street cred he can divvy up some for Paul as well. When they get into trouble with a local gang, they steal a car and head for the Lakes - Ashley because he thinks he may have killed somebody, and Cooper because he wants to see ravens. Their flight is hectic and intense, and they find refuge for a time in Helvellyn, but things are falling apart and soon their road trip makes national headlines ... for all the wrong reasons.