At the beginning of the book, Raphael is a 14-year-old who cheerfully describes himself as a “dumpsite boy” (3). His life resembles that of everyone else he knows, and he does not seem resentful or bitter about his situation. He lives in a camp near the dumpsite in the city of Behala with his aunt and some extended family members. He and his friend Gardo dig through trash to find things to sell. After Raphael finds and hides a bag containing money, a key, and a map, the police take him and torture him for information. He resists and keeps his secret, which gives him a strength he did not know he had. However, after his arrest, he has trouble sleeping and is paranoid, unable to sit still for long for fear that he is being watched. But he is brave and does what needs to be done. He and his friends, Gardo and Rat, find the locker the key unlocks and crack the code in the letter inside the locker, which shows them the location of enough money to escape from the police and reach Sampalo, the island where his friend Jun-Jun is from.