Tamzin's life is full of new beginnings. Every few years it's a new town, a new name, and another story to tell. The move when she is seventeen is the worst of all. Along with her name, she loses Dequan Qin and the magical year they were planning after Christmas.

Unable to contact Dequan, Tamzin, now known as Rochelle, accepts a lifeline from a strange elf man. Matin offers a place for her to stay until it's safe to be Tamzin again. Through the gateway into over there, the newly renamed Thomasine finds love and acceptance in a world of sparkling beauty. Lovers and friends, ever-sailing galleons, music, and magic offer distraction, but she never forgets Dequan.

Ten years after Tamzin's abrupt departure, Nelis and Xavier are having breakfast with their friend Lucy before they head off for the Christmas Eve orgy at the Pear Tree. Lucy is worried about her cousin Dequan. Ever since his girlfriend, Tamzin, left him without a word, he's unable to commit to any of his lovers. Lucy is embarking on a new life of her own, but first, she puts the question to her friends: whatever happened to Tamzin Herrick all those years ago?