Mortimer Hicks, a widower, is 72 years old and values nothing if not peace and quiet, order and thrift. But just before Christmas, his rigidly structured world threatens to go out of kilter when his neighbour pushes her small son through his door and begs him to look after him for a while. There’s nothing Mortimer Hicks abhors more than children because they ignore three things that are sacred to him: quiet, order and thrift.
On top of everything else, Gwendoline crashes into his life, a resolute, adroit museum attendant. Gwendoline corrects and rebukes him – an outrage! Yet Mortimer can’t stop thinking about her. Come to think of it, he hasn’t been feeling himself lately, what with those dizzy spells and strange visions. Is he getting senile? Or could it be… love? At his age?
