Former academic Arthur Opp weighs 550 pounds and hasn\'t left his rambling Brooklyn home in a decade. Twenty milesaway, in Yonkers, seventeen-year-old Kel Keller navigates life as the poor kid in a rich school and pins his hopes on what seems like a promising sporting career-if he can untangle himself from his family drama. The link between this unlikely pair is Kel\'s mother, Charlene, a former student of Arthur\'s. After nearly two decades of silence, it is Charlene\'s unexpected phone call to Arthur - a plea for help-that jostles them into action.

Through Arthur and Kel\'s own quirky and lovable voices, HEFT tells the winning story of two improbable heroes whose sudden connection transforms both their lives. It is a novel about love and family found in the most unexpected places.