Simon is a thinker and an idealist, quite out of place in the modern world. Though articulate and highly intelligent, he finds it hard to form adult relationships. People don't quite understand him. As a consequence, he lives alone with his dog Empson and his only close friend is his neighbour, Angela.
His idea of romantic attachment was shaped by his first and all-consuming love of Anna, the beautiful young woman he met at university. He has never fully recovered from the heartbreak of Anna calling off their relationship, nor understood the reasons why.
A few years ago, Simon suffered a major setback when he lost his job as a primary school teacher, a job he was good at, due to relating more to the hearts and minds of his young charges. He saw it as his duty to instill hope and enthusiasm in them. But when one of his students disappeared and was never found, Simon could never forgive himself. Contact with Anna after many years of silence, changes the course of both their lives, irrevocably.
