Johnsey is not quite like other people. He finds it hard to fit in, especially in a small Irish community. Regularly bullied, without friends, struggling to make sense of the world around him, he is particularly vulnerable when his parents die and he is left completely alone. He also owns land - land that has now become extremely valuable - and it seems that everyone around him wants to take advantage of his innocence and force him to sell. Village bullies and scheming land-grabbers stand in his way, no matter where he turns. Set over the course of one year of Johnsey's life, THE THING ABOUT DECEMBER is a heart-twisting tale of a lonely man trying to make his way in a world moving faster than he is.