In the tropics of Miami, retired Scottish schoolteacher Albert Black mourns his wife of forty-one years.

His grief and inability to connect with his son''s Americanised family combine to undermine the Christian ethos that has governed his life. Dejected, he summons a final rallying of his principles and seeks out a confrontation with a former pupil.

Part of the Storycuts series, this story was previously published in the collection Reheated Cabbage.