Our main character, Tom Hazard, suffers from a rare condition, making him able to live for centuries. As someone who has travelled all over the world and met the most extraordinary people for years and years, Tom decides it is time to retreat. All Tom ever wants is ordinary life, so he moves back to London, his hometown and settles down as a plain forty-one years old history teacher. But trouble soon finds him in the form of a captivating French teacher who shows a fascination for Tom that scares him.