When his mum's boyfriend kicks him out of the house, this teenager, under the age of 18, takes the name Link and begins a life of homelessness on the streets of London. Link desperately tries to find work, but nothing is available. Before long, his clothes are too ratty and his scent too foul for him to go on interviews. He seeks help from a social services agency, but they refuse aid, claiming he made himself homeless.

Link meets a young man named Ginger, and the two become friends. They live and beg together, and Ginger teaches Link the finer points of surviving on the streets.

Meanwhile, intermittent chapters describe the ramblings of a disjointed military vet who calls himself Shelter. He is angry at being discharged after many years of service and believes the country's homeless population is a result of a government conspiracy. He's taken it upon himself to fight for his country by disposing of drifters. Shelter develops an elaborate plan for luring young homeless people to his house, killing them, dressing them up as his own private army and burying them beneath the floorboards. Convinced that he's seen Ginger and Link laughing at him, he begins stalking them.

Link's narrative details the day-to-day trials of homelessness. He talks about the bitter cold of nights on the street, the burning hunger, the struggles of panhandling, the impossibility of getting a job and the nightly fear of others lurking in nearby dark doorways. One day, Ginger doesn't return to the boys' designated meeting place. Link is hurt and concerned, but another of Ginger's friends says this is just the way it works. Maybe he got a job, decided to leave town, or any number of things. Readers learn from Shelter's narrative that Ginger has become the newest soldier in his army of dead drifters.

Soon after Ginger's disappearance, Link meets a beautiful homeless girl named Gail. They're together for several months, and Link is in love. When they hear that other homeless teens besides Ginger have mysteriously vanished, they begin looking for potential suspects. They watch Shelter's home, because one missing person had been spotted there. Gail finally says she's getting tired of spying, so Link goes on his own. Link watches Shelter calling for the cat that readers know he has acquired as a prop. Shelter appears so gentle that Link is drawn into a conversation with him. The man lures Link into his house by offering him a coat. Then he traps Link and makes him look at the bodies of his army. Just as Shelter prepares to kill Link, Gail arrives with the law in tow. She also has a cameraman with her, and Link quickly learns she's a reporter who has been working undercover. She gives Link a handful of cash and tells him she's sorry for leading him on before saying goodbye. Link ponders what to do next. He hopes Gail's article will make an impact on someone. He also reflects on the irony that Shelter will have three square meals a day, a bed and a roof over his head by going to prison for life.

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	Created by Louise Kelly almost 8 years ago

Leaving Certificate English (Novels) Note on Plot Summary for "Stone Cold", created by Louise Kelly on 30/05/2018.