This delightful story centers on 10-year-old Tom Playfair, who is quite a handful for his well-meaning but soft-hearted aunt. Mr. Playfair, his widowed father, decides to ship his son off to St. Maure's boarding school—an all-boys' academy run by Jesuits—to shape him up, as well as to help him make a good preparation for his upcoming First Communion. Tom is less than enthusiastic, but his adventures are just about to begin. Life at St. Maure's will not be dull as the reader will soon find out.

Father Francis Finn, S.J., was an early 20th-century Jesuit priest who wrote delightful children's stories about life in Jesuit boarding schools. Taken from his years of experience teaching Catholic boys, Father Finn writes about various human personalities with warmth and humor that makes for enjoyable reading for all types.