‘Sophie!’ she cried. ‘I’m the angel of wisdom. Remember the good old days!’
Jonny’s in a bad way. After a night of trouble, he sets out to find his dead sister’s best friend. But wandering through the deserted city late at night, he finds someone else instead - old Sophie West. Sophie suffers from senile dementia, a brain disorder causing loss of memory and disorientation. She is reduced to living on her own in genteel but dreadful squalor - her only companions a mass of cats. As a temporary outcast himself, Jonny takes refuge with her.
While Sophie has no memory at all, Jonny’s memory of his sister’s death is all too strong. In Sophie’s house past and present merge for both of them. Their accidental meeting is about to change their lives in a way they could never have imagined.