In a small village, there are whispers in the market square that William is not who he says he is. They say he skinny-dips and talks to trees. He was once a doctor, but now he only prescribes books – for Emily, Marco and James, whose lives have become entangled with his. Emily is in a troubled relationship and has spent most of her life sheltering in the library. James is coming undone as he struggles to live up to his father's expectations. While Marco, who measures his self-worth by the size of his bank account, has returned to the village with nothing. They have all been thrown into a liminal space and can no longer stay as they are. This is a tale about the power of stories – especially the ones we tell ourselves.