Piano restorer Russell Tompkinson is a strong man, toughened by life's hard knocks. Most of his life he has dealt with his own problems and is slow to appreciate the feelings of the disadvantaged and vulnerable. That is until he embarks on a quest for provenance connected with an antique piano owned by Julie's Club, a self-help organisation for chronically-ill children. Gradually, a new attitude and outlook begin to emerge as female acquaintances appeal to his long-forgotten sensitivity and help him make sense of man's eternal brain-teaser, the female psyche. One of them is destined to join him in a lasting relationship but he has no way of knowing which, and he is even less certain that he will find the vital evidence that the piano was once the gift of royalty to the greatest pianistof all time.