Ten-year-old Flambeau waits for his young mother to arrive from the Congo, along the same dangerous route that the human traffickers smuggled him. Homesick and pining for love, he sees a glimpse of life in his young neighbor, Eleanor, and her gangster boyfriend, Knight - a fellow Congolese.

Eleanor, a pale Scottish beauty, offers Flambeau the warmth and empathy that London has hitherto failed to provide; while Knight - dressed to the nines and dressed to kill - might just have the contacts to find Flambeau's mother, Bijou.

But Knight's past is so troubled, and his present so dangerous, that to challenge the traffickers to find Bijou might be more than his life is worth - something neither a lovesick girl nor a ten-year-old boy can be expected to understand.