Until her father's death, Charlotte thought that the worst things to happen to you might be accidents like swallowing a paperclip, chipping your front teeth by walking into a gate, or tripping over in the dining hall in front of the whole school. But then, one day, her father just doesn't come home. And all she remembers is how she was in a hurry for him to leave for work, so that she could get on with the day. While others in her family mourn the loss, no one seems to be able to help Charlotte understand her feelings, what she's supposed to think or how she ought to behave. Only her elderly neighbour's friendship helps her find her way through the first weeks. Then when new girl Anita, a refugee, arrives at school, Charlotte is asked to look after her; she begins to think about what might have happened in Anita's life, and so to find the right questions to ask herself about her own loss, to start to make sense of what she is feeling. She begins to see that although she will never get over her father's death, she can move beyond it.