Meg has always lived in the family home in Melbourne and has spent much of her life caring for her parents and her sister. Meg now lives alone in the house except for an African grey talkative parrot, Atticus. When she enters into a home sharing arrangement she encounters twenty-one year old Andy who moves into the spare bedroom. It is soon obvious that Meg and Andy are very different people, each attempting to cope with a range of issues. However an understanding gradually begins to develop between the two of them.
The book covers a range of issues including loneliness, cultural differences, problems faced by overseas students in Australia, racism, family expectations, aging, health issues and difficulties in communicating with other people. However throughout the book a major theme is the inability of the characters to really be able to communicate with each other, to say what they really mean and to have real and meaningful conversations with friends and family. Meg also has to come to terms with what will happen with the family memories that exist in her home after she is gone.
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