Alexander James, now retired, pursued a successful career as an art historian and somewhat eccentric academic. He lives in a dowdy and chaotic flat and is single. His choice. Alone, that is, except for the world of art, which can at times replace the real one. He prefers to forget his past but on dark nights it can return to haunt him.

He meets Samantha Reagan by chance, at the charity shop where she volunteers. She is sophisticated, divorced and when she admits it - lonely. They had met briefly before, but even forty years on there is definitely still a spark...

But do they really want to pursue this, now that they're in their seventies, have their own independence and after all that life has already thrown at them? And, of course, there is also the spectre of sex; of Samantha's perception of her descent from flawless beauty to much older woman and for Alex, the issue of masculinity and performance. And if they can conquer all of that, what about the dark secrets churning inside both of them?