Frankie Howe was never quite sure enough of herself to take centre stage - after all, life had already judged her harshly. Now in her eighties, she finds it easier to forget the life that came before. Then Damian, a young Irish carer, arrives at her London flat to keep an eye on her as she recovers from a fall.

A memory is sparked, and the past crackles into life as Damian listens to the story Frankie has kept stored away all these years. From post-war Ireland to the dazzling art scene of 1960s New York, Frankie shares a world in which friendships and chance encounters collide. A place where life blazes with an intensity that can't last but will perhaps live on in other ways and in other people.