The author looks back to the 1950s and to the death of her brother Tom. Frances was nine and Tom ten when he ran into the street and was knocked over by a milk float. Their little brother Harry was only three. Frances and Harry both see Tom's ghost first at his funeral on a cold, wet day in November. Tom comes to them regularly after that, usually when they need his help. He has always been protective of them both, and his ghost becomes even more so, particularly as they live with a very difficult aunt who is often insensitive and cruel. Their parents have been dead for years, and the aunt resents having to look after them. Frances has had polio and must wear calipers, and some of the bullying she experiences at school is because of that. Frances falls into a canal and almost drowns, but is saved by Tom's instructions. After that experience, Aunt Marge learns to be kinder and life improves. When Frances is fifteen, their dog Rufus dies, and when his ghost appears, he and Tom go off together, never to be seen again. Frances and Harry know he is somewhere, working things out. This bald outline can in no way make clear the unusual beauty of this story. The descriptions are magical, and the emotions real without a whiff of sentimentality. A truly outstanding story.