Like many Italians in the early 1930s, Frank Ginesi comes to Scotland looking for work and better prospects. The novel is set around his cafe in Paisley, The Bay of Naples, which he runs with his wife, Gina. Frank takes pity on a down-and-out drifter, Ian Miller, and employs him in the cafe. A classic menage a trois situation gradually develops and Frank's internment on the Isle of Man with thousands of other 'enemy aliens' leads to Miller taking advantage of his absence. It is a powerful and thought-provoking story from a gifted storyteller.