There are two women James Hemmings cannot forget: his mother and his first and only lover, Celia. Nor can he forget the events which destroyed his boyhood - and both women. For forty years he has been reclusive, walking Sydney's streets, observing but making little contact with other people. But when a schoolgirl approaches him, a connection is formed which returns the traumatic events of his youth to him with an intensity that threatens the girl herself.
