The story is set in 1980s Scotland, when anti-nuclear protests were prominent in the news. When Helen runs out of class in distress, the teacher sends Kitty after her, despite the two not exactly being friends. Kitty soon realizes that Helen hates the man her mother is about to marry. She therefore tells her the story about Gerald, her mother's boyfriend whom she initially disliked, and how she gradually got used to him, despite his anti-CND views.