There are stories about people who want to live forever. This is not one of those stories. This is a story about someone who wants to stop... Alfie Monk is like any other nearly teenage boy - except he's 1,000 years old and can remember the last Viking invasion of England. Obviously no one believes him. So when everything Alfie knows and loves is destroyed in a fire, and the modern world comes crashing in, Alfie embarks on a mission to find friendship, acceptance, and a different way to live... ... which means finding a way to make sure he will eventually die.