Beaten and thrown out of his home by his father, Guy ends up on the streets. A few days later he's 'adopted' by two strays, a German shepherd mix and a gray kitten. Later that night, when he returns to a vacant house he'd found the previous day, he meets three other homeless teens -- Mack, Tone, and Dani. After a false start, because they think he's a punk looking for trouble, they become friends. Dani insists the animals need names, and she decides to call the kitten Ghost, while the dog becomes Shadow. When Mack and Guy are threatened by two real punks in the alley behind the house, Shadow defends them, with Mack's help. This leads to their decision that it isn’t safe to remain where they are. As they move on, the quartet's friendship deepens, and Guy eventually trusts them enough to tell them he's gay ... which they accept with no problem, as it turns out so are Mack and Tone. Now they have to continue dealing with life on the streets while COVID ravages the country, making being homeless a fight for their very survival.

Strays in the Time of COVID

“Just like my kids,” Simon commented. “Danny starts crawling somewhere he shouldn’t and before Carrie or I can stop him, Tommy’s gotten him and starts playing with him to take his attention off whatever. He loves his little brother, the same way Shadow seems to love Ghost.”


I was right. Guy resisted sighing aloud. Making the best of it, he said, “You don’t look old enough to have two kids.”


“As clichéd as it sounds,” Simon replied, leaning on the shovel handle, with a reminiscent look in his eyes, “I married my high school sweetheart soon after graduation. She worked right beside me when I started my business and…”


Guy tuned him out, concentrating on finishing the hole for the tree. Even if he had been gay, there’s no way he’d have been interested in me. Who would be? I’m just another throw-away teen, living hand to mouth, trying to survive. Hell, Mack’s not interested and we’re in the same boat. I’ll go to my grave wondering what it’s like to have someone who loves me.


Chapter 20