Tom spends his eighth birthday in a hospital with meningitis. When he returns home, his year-old-brother, Jim, has to help him relearn how to walk.

Inspired by the James Bond novels, at 11 Tom writes his first secret agent "novel" -- about 16 pages long. The new author thinks his name will look better in print if he adds an "H" to Tom, and thus "Thom" is born.

The release of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" changes Thom's life. He becomes fascinated with strange new sounds and music and briefly forms a ragtag band with his brother and a friend: The Underground Cable Company. In high school, he passes up the chance to become editor of the school newspaper, and instead develops a new Contemporary Arts Department that focuses on music and movies.