In these ten autobiographical stories Winifred Beechey paints a portrait of old age. She writes from her own experiences and observations of the shifting emotions of the elderly, their unpredictability and petulance, their charm and independence and the demands that they can place on those around them. The title story describes what happens when an elderly aunt becomes the responsibility of a niece already in her 60s and charts the conflicts and truces between the two protagonists until it reaches a conclusion with an unexpected aftermath. Other stories consider the old from a child's perspective and the regret and guilt that the adult feels in looking back. They show ageing people on the edge, unstable and full of imaginings. The book is aimed at the elderly as well as those who care for the old, both professionally and domestically.