Cliffhanger

Nine-year-old Tim is a quiet, bookish boy who prefers watching television, drawing, and reading to anything remotely athletic. When his father spots an advert for a children's adventure holiday featuring abseiling, canoeing, archery, and mountain biking, he insists on signing Tim up. Tim's mother protests that Tim is too young and unsuited for sport, but his father, a former captain of football and cricket at school, overrides them both, convinced the holiday will toughen Tim up. His father buys him rugged new clothes, while his mother buys him a safety helmet. On the drive to the Adventure Centre, Tim clutches his beloved teddy bear, Walter Bear, for comfort while his father scolds him for being childish. Throughout the holiday, Tim writes postcards home that serve as a running commentary on his shifting emotional state.

Sally, the woman who runs the Adventure Centre, greets Tim warmly. After his parents drive away, Tim realizes he has left Walter Bear on the back seat of the car. The bold girl whose car overtook them on the drive, Kelly, charges through the Centre excitedly. Tim finds the boys' room and meets his roommates: Giles, a tall, posh, and pushy boy who immediately asks what sports teams Tim belongs to, and Biscuits, a cheerful, overweight boy who is constantly eating. Giles mocks Tim for not being on any school teams. Biscuits retaliates by calling Giles "Piles," which makes Tim laugh. Tim unpacks his safety helmet and discovers with embarrassment that his mother has painted TIM in bright pink letters on the front. Feeling homesick, he nearly cries. Biscuits quietly shares a soggy biscuit with him, prompting Tim to note on his first postcard home that he has made a friend.

That evening, the six members of their team, the Tigers, gather together. Their Special Helper, the staff member assigned to lead and supervise the team, is Jake, whom Tim finds friendly and approachable. The children's faces are painted in team colors for an outdoor game called Triangles, similar to the bat-and-ball game Rounders. Jake assigns Tim to first post, the first catching position, despite Tim's warning that he cannot catch. Tim repeatedly fails to catch, fumbles every throw, and cannot hit when batting. He is clearly the worst player. Afterward, Tim locks himself in the toilets to cry, then calls his parents from the hallway phone. His mother agrees to come get him, but his father overrides her, telling Tim he is making a fuss about nothing. Biscuits finds Tim by the phone and cheers him up by revealing a tin of golden syrup smuggled under his sweatshirt.

At bedtime, Giles torments Tim about his poor performance and puts him in a painful armlock. Biscuits defuses the tension by doing a sumo wrestling impression and threatening Giles, who releases Tim. Jake announces the next day's activity is abseiling, the practice of descending a steep rock face on a rope. Before lights out, Giles and Biscuits each produce their own cuddly toys for bed, and Tim realizes no one would have mocked him for having Walter Bear. He goes to sleep with his arms painfully empty.

The next day, the Tigers hike to the top of a hill for abseiling. Jake asks for a volunteer. Giles and Kelly eagerly call out, but Jake passes them over because they always go first and he wants others to have a turn. He asks Tim, who refuses. Biscuits surprises everyone by stepping forward and, despite Giles's mocking comments about his weight, walks himself down the cliff successfully. Jake then selects Tim. Tim protests, but he is strapped in before he can escape. As Tim backs toward the edge, his feet lose contact with the ground. He panics, grabs the rock face, and lets go of the rope. Jake calmly talks him through the crisis from above, assuring Tim the harness will hold him. On a second attempt, Tim manages to grab the rope. Step by tiny step, with Jake coaching him, Tim walks himself down the cliff. Biscuits congratulates him at the bottom. On the walk back, Giles taunts Tim relentlessly, pushing and punching him when Jake is not looking.

After tea, Jake creates a private moment with Tim by asking him to help look for lost balls in the garden. Tim confides that Giles bullies him. Jake casually throws a ball to Tim, who catches it repeatedly without difficulty in this relaxed setting. Jake suggests Tim try standing up to Giles and tells him that everyone is scared of something, reinforcing the idea that Tim's fears are normal.

The next activity is a canoe race. Biscuits and Tim pair up and agree not to take it seriously. Giles and Kelly race competitively toward the front. As they overtake the leading team, Kelly waves her lucky mascot, a small Troll doll named Theresa, in celebration and accidentally flings the doll into the river. Biscuits spots Theresa bobbing past their canoe, and Tim scoops her out with his paddle. Giles furiously insults them for abandoning the race, but Kelly is overjoyed and hugs and kisses Tim in gratitude. Later, Giles digs Tim hard in the stomach with his elbow. A splashing fight erupts among the Tigers, and Jake punishes them by making them mop the kitchen on their hands and knees.

The following day brings the Crazy Bucket Race. Teams must fill buckets at a paddling pool, carry them across a field and through obstacles, then cross a stream via wobbly drainpipes to fill a painted animal bin on the opposite bank. Points are awarded for both speed and the amount of water retained. A boy from a rival team deliberately pushes Tim, bloodying his knees. Kelly retaliates by knocking the boy down. Despite his injuries, Tim decides not to let his teammates down and runs back to refill his bucket. At the stream, every child who tries to cross the drainpipes falls in. While the others argue, Tim realizes the drainpipes are hollow: The team can lift one end, stick it into the bin, and pour the water through. When Giles tries to silence him, Tim shouts back for the first time. Jake gives Tim a thumbs-up. Tim directs his teammates into position, and the water flows directly into the bin. The Tigers fill their bin first and with the most water, earning maximum points. The entire team cheers for Tim, and even Giles joins in.

Time, which crawled during Tim's first two miserable days, flies during the final two. The Tigers are announced as overall winners. Sally and Jake award each team member a small stuffed toy tiger, and Tim names his slightly fatter one "Biscuits." On the final night, all three boys stay up late swapping jokes, and Tim notes he almost likes Giles. He falls asleep cuddling his toy tiger instead of Walter Bear, feeling content. In his final postcard, Tim writes that he almost wishes he were not going home and gives his father five kisses instead of the grudging single one from his first postcard. Tim also writes to Kelly agreeing to be her boyfriend on the condition that it remain a secret whenever Biscuits is around, and to Biscuits inviting him to stay. He signs the letter "Super-Tim," embracing a heroic identity.