Bina, a bracingly plain-spoken older Irishwoman, is under police surveillance for a crime considered so unspeakable and incendiary that she cannot refer to it directly upon threat of immediate arrest. As a last resort, Bina has taken to her bed to write out her own version of her story on the backs of old envelopes. Slowly, we piece together the poignant truth: at the heart of this book is a deliberate act of merciful euthanasia that brings with it an awful burden, one that an anguished Bina cannot bear to face.