A restless teenager finds her monotonous summer on a remote island disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious, antiseptic-scented stranger. Medve, a sixteen-year-old girl living in a decaying hotel, navigates the eccentricities of her dysfunctional family while grappling with her own adolescent boredom and unconventional aspirations. The narrative, set against the backdrop of 1981 Devon, explores the friction between her internal world of literary obsession and the bizarre reality of her domestic life. As the stranger enters this insular environment, the established order of the hotel begins to shift, forcing Medve to confront the absurdity of her surroundings.

Nicola Barker is widely recognized for her ability to extract the surreal from the mundane, and this work is frequently cited as a prime example of her distinct stylistic voice. Readers often note the sharp, biting humor that permeates the narrative, highlighting the author's talent for creating memorable, eccentric characters. The setting of a semi-derelict hotel serves as a perfect stage for the unfolding domestic chaos, which critics have praised for its originality and poignant undertones. The prose is often described as dense and idiosyncratic, demanding a reader who appreciates unconventional storytelling structures and dark, satirical observations.