The streets of Darlinghurst are dangerous. It is 1930 and razor gangs compete for domination of the turf. Leaving home isn't optional when Gilbert Maggs' drunken father chases him from the house with a carving knife. He quickly finds that the back streets hold dangers of their own. With a name like Gilbert Maggs, and a shock of red hair, he is inevitably going to become Meggsie, and Meggsie will have to learn quickly if he is to survive. He finds that, on the street, his choice is between theft and starvation, and so begins his life of crime. How can he know that a bunch of bananas, stolen from a fruit shop frequented by Guido Calletti, violent leader of the Darlinghurst Push, will change the course of his life?