Man of Watercentres around the main character of Watt, a writer in middle-aged decline with a string of failed relationships behind him. Having successfully secured a postgraduate scholarship to write a novel and a dissertation he borrows the use of his friend's holiday house in the coastal town of Osprey Bay. But the days and weeks go by and Watt achieves nothing. This talent for procrastination and inaction culminates when he stands by and watches as an old man drowns trying to save his dog in the local weir. From this point the novel unfolds like a psychological thriller, carefully peeling back the layers of Watt's life, revealing clues to his guilt in the long line of drowned and abandoned relationships he has left behind. His mother, wife, son and a string of lovers have all been victims and, as the police, his past and his personal life seem to be closing in, Watt seeks to escape the best way he can.