An irresistible debut novel about the wisdom of the very young, the mischief of the very old, and the magic that happens when no one else is lookingMillie Bird, seven years old and ever hopeful, always wears red gumboots to match her curly hair. Her struggling mother, grieving the death of Millies father, leaves her in the big ladies underwear department of a local store and never returns.Agatha Pantha, eighty-two, has not left her houseor spoken to another human beingsince she was widowed seven years ago. She fills the silence by yelling at passersby, watching loud static on TV, and maintaining a strict daily schedule.Karl the Touch Typist, eighty-seven, once used his fingers to type out love notes on his wifes skin. Now that shes gone, he types his words out into the air as he speaks. Karls been committed to a nursing home, but in a moment of clarity and joy, he escapes. Now hes on the lam.

Brought together at a fateful moment, the three embark upon a road trip across Western Australia to find Millies mother. Along the way, Karl wants to find out how to be a man again; Agatha just wants everything to go back to how it was.Together they will discover that old age is not the same as death, that the young can be wise, and that letting yourself feel sad once in a while just might be the key to a happy life.