Alf's memories come in flashes and great blank holes, along with a running commentary from his younger self, as well as other voices from his past. But Alf's not sure why finding a strange coat in his kitchen reminds him of why he doesn't want a bath today.

He thinks he might be remembering his wife. Alf is very old and his memories get muddled, to say nothing of the conversations he carries on in his head with voices from the past. When Alf's carer finds a stranger's coat in his kitchen, the chain of chopped-up and contradictory memories it touches not only reveal the stranger's identity, but also the story of Alf's own unhappy marriage and how his wife died so young. It also plunges Alf back into a memory he would have been happier to forget - and explains why he doesn't want the bath his carer is determined to give him.