At a dinner party in the posh London suburb of Greenwich, Miles Garth suddenly leaves the table midway through the meal, locks himself in an upstairs room, and refuses to leave. An eclectic group of neighbors and friends slowly gathers around the house, and the story of Miles is one told from the points of view of four of them: a woman in her forties called Anna, a man in his sixties called Mark, a woman in her eighties called May, and a ten-year-old...

This book teaches young children to manage their thoughts and words without interrupting.

"Throughout this novel of love and war, lore and music, missed opportunities and timeless bonds ... characters risk their bodies, hearts, and minds in pursuit of the manna of human connection"--Dust jacket flap.