Mr Scobie's arrival at the nursing home of St Christopher and St Jude - and into the clutches of Matron Hyacinth Price - is accidental. Self-educated and still preserving the gift of idyllic memory and wish, Mr Scobie stands apart from the others. For long term resident and eccentric, Miss Hailey, he represents a kindred spirit; for Matron Price - a lady of questionable practices - the latest victim...

In this masterly collection of stories, Elizabeth Jolley has created a splendid array of characters, all of whom fail to achieve the expected. Her stories are sometimes slyly comic, sometimes disturbing - but always they are written with a delicacy and compassion as moving as the characters themselves.