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Daz 4 Zoe: Plot

The beginning, the first meeting, and trouble brewing (pages 1-49) We are first introduced to Daz. He has a bad life - his brother is dead, his mother is depressed, he is poor and disillusioned. We are also introduced to Zoe, who is in total contrast to Daz - she has a safe, comfortable life. Her best friend is Tabby, the daughter of Mr Wentworth, a rich landowner. We learn about the differences between Subbies and Chippies. Subbies live in the suburbs, protected from Chippies by fences and guards. They are rich and comfortable. The Chippies live in the desolate old cities in squalor and poverty. They are criminals, and are not allowed into the Subbies suburbs. Daz is a Chippy and Zoe a Subby. Tabby invites Zoe 'Chippying'. This is a name the rich Subby kids give to driving into Chippy territory and going clubbing. The one thing the Chippies do well is party - so many Subby kids disobey their parents and visit these dangerous clubs. Tabby and Zoe drive with their friends into the city, Chippy territory, where the place is even more desolate than Zoe could have imagined. They head for the 'Blue Moon' club. By coincidence, Daz too is going to the Blue Moon, but he is going for a very different reason; he wants to join Dred, a terrorist anti-Subby group, and he is meeting Cal to discuss it. Cal is the leader of the terrorist group. When Zoe and her friends enter the club, she immediately sees Daz for the first time. Their eyes meet, and it is 'love at first sight', but they do not go and talk to each other; Chippies do not socialise with Subbies, and besides, Cal would never let Daz into Dred if he saw such a thing. Cal and Daz begin to talk, when there is a sudden commotion in the club. One of Zoe's friends has caused a fight. Cal runs for it at the first sign of trouble, while Daz comes to the rescue of Zoe and her friends, heroically leading them out. Zoe and Daz kiss briefly, and then the Subbies escape back to Silverdale. Back in Silverdale, Zoe simply cannot get Daz out of her head. She seeks the advice of her Grandma, who she has always been able to trust. Grandma suggests that she should do nothing but wait to see if Daz finds a way to get in contact. Zoe's home life has deteriorated. She argues with her parents about Chippies - her Dad thinks they are barely human. Things come to a head when her parents receive a note from school. Zoe's teacher has found a pro Chippy slogan she had written. All this serves to make Zoe increasingly unpopular at school. Daz's visit to Silverdale, and more trouble with authorities (pages 5088)

Zoe is not the only one in love. Daz is smitten too and resolves to find his way into Silverdale to find Zoe. He remembers an old tunnel Dred use to gain access to the suburb, and decides to travel through that. He borrows a workman's uniform so that his Chippy clothes will attract little attention, and sets on his way. Daz has no sooner got out of the tunnel at the other end, when suddenly, and by complete coincidence, he bumps into Zoe - the very girl he is looking for! They spend a few wonderful hours together, and before they part they work out a way to keep in touch. They will write messages to each other, and give them to their dustbin men (who are Chippies) to deliver. But as Daz makes his way back to Rawhampton, a security guard interrupts him and opens fire. Daz frantically dodges the bullets, and makes his way back home. The incident with the security guard is reported on the evening news, and it doesn't take long for Cal and Dred to work out that Daz is involved. Daz is beaten and warned severely. Dred has turned on him. When Zoe returns from the meeting, she decides to visit Tabby and tell her everything. But when she arrives the entire Wentworth family are acting suspiciously, so she decides against it. To her surprise Tabby is tearful, and promises her friendship whatever. Zoe is not sure what is going on. She arrives home to find Lieutenant Pohlman of Domestic Security waiting for her. She immediately assumes that they know about Daz - but to her surprise they know nothing. Instead they seem eager to ask about Tabby. That evening, Zoe gets into an argument with her parents, and her Dad blurts out about a group called FAIR. They are a peaceful movement who campaign for Chippies' rights. Zoe becomes intrigued, but she is still worried about what could have happened to Tabby. Trouble with the law, Zoe's escape, the first days in Rawhampton (pages 51-134) Zoe decides to visit Daz, ignorant of Dred's threats about ever using the tunnel again. Though she is frightened, the need to be with Daz is even stronger. They spend more precious time together before Zoe has to go again, but she has a shock waiting for her. It has been discovered that Mr Wentworth, Tabby's father, is a member of FAIR - and he is kicked out of the suburbs for life. His entire family are now Chippies. Worse is to come. On her return she finds that her father, ashamed of being investigated by DS, has sold the house to move far away. Zoe could never see Daz again! In the meantime, Daz overhears two members of Dred plotting to ambush the Wentworths and kill them. He knows that Tabby is a friend of Zoe's, so

he resolves to save them. He uses his dead brother's gun, and lies in wait at the ambush point. When he sees Pete, a member of Dred, he shoots him dead. Zoe, shaken up about leaving, turns to her Grandma for advice. Her Grandma advises her not to run away to Rawhampton, and regretfully says that Zoe could not live with her. Zoe must choose between life as a Chippy with Daz, or moving away with her parents. Rashly she decides that Daz is worth sacrificing everything for, and she begins to plot her escape. She runs away to Rawhampton by hitching a lift under a garbage truck. The moment she arrives she knows she has made a mistake. She is alone in the town dump, and begins to panic. As she walks into town looking for the tallest tower (Daz said he lived in a flat there) she passes a dead body and a bunch of kids fooling about with it. She is shocked, and even the inexperienced little kids know straight away that she is a Subby. When she finds Daz's mum's flat, she is far from reassured. It is in an appalling state, far different to the comfort she is used to. Daz's mum doesn't help - she is depressed and irritable, and tells Daz to 'get rid' of Zoe. The following morning, Daz, embarrassed about his home and mother, sets off to look for a place that Zoe can hide in the long term. Trying to make friends with Daz's mum, Zoe offers the gifts she has brought - different types of food and luxuries that cannot be obtained in Rawhampton. But to her surprise, Daz's mum rejects them. Zoe is initially angry about this snub, but soon realises Daz's mum only has her best wishes at heart; Zoe will need to sell the fancy goods for clothes later. End game in Rawhampton (pages 134-165) Daz manages to find Zoe somewhere to hide - his old teacher, Mr James, is a member of FAIR, and agrees to let her stay in the school. But before they can get Zoe there, the police start looking for her - her parents have worked out what is going on and have called in DS. The police have offered a reward and someone tipped them off that Zoe is in Daz's flat. Daz hides Zoe in the basement under a boiler, and though the police search the building, they can't find her. In the meantime Daz is threatened by Dred. They know he killed Pete and they are now after him. Daz is now on the wrong side of Dred as well as the law. Zoe hides in the school for two days, in the ceiling. There is plenty of police activity, and though they search the school, no trace of Zoe is found. Mr James explains that he is a member of FAIR. There are surprises to come though - for he continues to tell Zoe Grandma was the founding member of FAIR in her area. With Mr Wentworth thrown out, Grandma has had to come out of retirement to take over. He gives Zoe a letter from Grandma, containing a map- which details a safe house out of the city - the new

Wentworth house. Zoe makes up her mind to try and persuade Daz and his mum to come with her. She sets off to their apartment to tell them. Unfortunately, by the time she gets there, Daz has been cornered by Cal and Dred. They want to take their revenge on him for killing Pete. Daz is hiding under the boiler where Zoe had previously hidden and it is impossible for Cal to get him out. However, they capture Zoe, and threaten to kill her if Daz doesn't give himself up. Daz emerges from his hiding place and surrenders himself. Cal wants to make Daz's death a slow and painful one, and is about to start by blowing his kneecap off. He is just about to shoot, when Lieutenant Pohlman turns up in the nick of time. He shoots the members of Dred, and in the ensuing chaos, both Daz and Zoe make their escape. The novel ends as Daz and Zoe climb Pinkney Hill, some distance from the city. It is dusk and they see the spotlights of the security wall around Silverdale turn off. Briefly, it looks as if the city and the suburbs are one and the same. The novel ends on this message of hope, despite the dark society it describes.

As the plot reaches a climax in the final chapters of the novel, Dred captures Daz, and Zoe. They use Zoe as a tool to get Daz from his hiding place, threatening to kill her if he does not show himself. Once out, Cal, makes a dramatic speech about torturing Daz, making his death the most slow and painful way possible. The end of that chapter was accomplished brilliantly as the incredible suspense of the moment, makes the audience hold their breath: ?He stooped, thrusting the gun into the crook of Daz?s knee. I cringed and turned my face away as the shot rang out.? Swindells composed these seconds perfectly, as the audience is compelled to instantly rush to the next chapter, where they find the final, unexpected twist in the plot. Daz is found unharmed, and Dred and the police engaged in a spectacular firefight, with Cal, the Dred ? ring-leader? in agony, wounded on the floor. Daz and Zoe then make a successful escape from the city and as the novel closes we see them sitting on top of the hill which divides the city and the suburbs, commenting that in darkness it was impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins. The closing sentence is a brilliant ending, leaving the audience to wonder how the life, which lies ahead of the two youngsters, will follow.

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