Charlie Bloome wants to be a writer. Twenty-three years old, he is studying literature and living with his gamine partner, Alice - 'Lootie' - who plans to be a teacher and is less than supportive of Charlie's dreams. Into their lives comes the flamboyant Sebastian Chanteleer, an ageing but internationally acclaimed children's writer. Upon meeting, Lootie and Chanteleer establish an immediate bond. As the children's writer makes his presence felt in the younger couple's lives, Charlie struggles to come to terms with his own past and identity, and with what is happening to Lootie. Does Charlie have what it takes to be a writer? Does Chanteleer represent the best or worst a writer can be? And what happens to those caught up in a writer's world? Gary Crew has crafted a compelling and superbly written study of passions and ambitions, and an insider's look at the creative process and the foibles and delusions of those who practise it.