Jake Challis has some issues. Becoming a father at a young age did not help, and neither did the influence of his own father. Whatever or whoever is to blame though, ultimately Jake's life is in his own hands. Whether it's the company he keeps, the drinking, the drugs, or his choice of profession (petty criminal), Jake appears to be on a course for self-destruction. All the more difficult for him is that he can see that. He is aware of the monster that has dwelled inside him since he was a child, and knows that there are ways of controlling it. Staying in control is the real problem. As he looks back on his life through the prism of memory, can he see where he went wrong, and what it would take to have a 'normal' life? And if he succeeds, what then?