She has lost everyone she has ever loved. For ten years Josie Cuff has been trying to trace her young grandchildren, the only members of her family still alive, who have disappeared on the other side of the world. She now lives in a small rented cottage in England after a turbulent life in South America. She writes her grandchildren lively letters which may never be sent, telling them about her past and about the eccentric inhabitants of the Dorset village where she is seeking to make a new life and new friends. The search for her beloved 'Magpies' has stolen her peace of mind. Threatened by a sinister intruder who invades her home and privacy, Josie fights to cling on to hope.