It is 1972. Byron Hemming is an 11 year old boy, living with his mother, absent-during-the-week father, and younger sister in a town within commuting distance of London. They live in a beautiful house on a piece of land complete with a pond. Byron and his best friend James Lowe go to an expensive school, and by all accounts lead a privileged sort of existence. One day James tells Byron that two seconds is going to be added to time in order to balance the time of the clock with the movement of the earth, making things perfect and in harmony. Byron becomes increasingly anxious about this event, reaching its peak during a non-routine drive to school with his mother driving that results in a young girl being knocked over. 
 Using James as his wing man, Byron, who feels that the whole incident is his fault, tries his utmost, to the capacity that an 11 year old boy can, to rectify the situation and make everything right again - back to his perception of perfect. Which of course, is never going to happen, as 11 year old boys, simply have no grasp of the intricacies of adult life and relationships, specifically marriage and friendships. A child's world view is different from an adult's world view. 
 The characterization is absolutely brilliant in this story, and there's a real sense of depth and feeling that you cannot help but connect with these characters. Towards the end of the story, I had tears in my eyes the whole time as the emotional depth of the story pulls you in and compels you to really feel for Byron and his mother.