Twelve-year-old James hates life at his hippy boarding school where lessons are optional, homework forbidden and school rules decided by democratic vote. All he wants is an academic education with proper exams. When a strict new maths teacher strides into this world of peace, love and fringed ponchos, James latches onto him as a symbol of hope. At first, Mervyn's eccentricities seem comic but as a more tragic story unfolds, the adult James is forced to confront his own part in a grand downfall.