Peggy is eighty and the family are having a birthday party. Her sons gift of a beautifully crafted notebook comes with a request Peggys not so keen on telling her own story, but each of her family and neighbours has a story to tell, revealing not just Peggys life but that of her village, tucked beneath Cader Idris on the southern fringes of Snowdownia. Bookended by Peggys own shocking testimony, each chapter has a different voice and a different take on events, from the jolly fat woman who is feeding not just Peggy but her own sense of emptiness, to the generous shopkeeper and his young son, who has had his eye on Peggy for a long time, and Peggys best friend, whos not sure shes cut out for marriage to the church and its curator. As the village voices fill out the picture of life in Llanegryn, slowly the reader realises that all is not well, and that Peggys eccentricities have a terrible dark secret hidden behind them - and not just that she was a neglected child.