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He was not aware that he ever stopped crying.In his sleep a voice echoed down the long dark barrel of a cannon: You have run out of birthdays. In the morning he awoke suddenly to a flutter of wings.Birthdays are an obsession where Palmer comes from, but if turning a year older means initiation into a violent practice he despises, he'd rather not. Unfortunately, Palmer cannot stop time any more than he can change tradition. So as this next and most important birthday approaches, Palmer knows that it's now or never. Something must be done.

威瑪鎮有許多不成文的傳統──每年必須射殺五千隻鴿子，好募款維護公園；男孩過生日時，必須讓一名叫法卡的大男孩捶打手腕；另外，年滿十歲的男孩必須充當殺鴿日的「小殺手」，負責扭斷受傷鴿子的脖子。即將過十歲生日的小男孩──魯波馬──雖然害怕，甚至在潛意識裡抗拒這些殘暴的傳統，但又害怕不為同儕認同與接受。因此，他棄幼年玩伴古小桃不顧，極力想融入「死黨」的圈子裡；然而，對於小鎮傳統的恐懼，卻不時令他惡夢連連。沒想到，在一場暴風雪過後，一隻鴿子竟然成為他的寵物，他還替這隻鴿子取名為鉗子。經由觀察與相處，波馬越來越深愛這隻鴿子，鉗子也成為他和古小桃之間的祕密。由於對鉗子的愛，波馬終於鼓起勇氣，拒絕讓法卡擊手腕，並且揚棄小鎮的殺鴿傳統，不再因畏懼旁人的眼光和世俗的愚昧而掩藏真正的自我。