John Vir owns a newsagent's in Southampton. His is the only shop that still stocks space dust along with packets of petrified celery soup, The Lady and Marxism Today, drosophila-studded fruit and boxes of henna. Lucy and Paul are his favoured customers, especially Lucy with her enchanting purchases of catnip mice, hair bobbles and spangly combs. They live across the road, above Snooke's Electrical Stores, soon to become the Bluebird Cafe. While Lucy works in the caf , Paul spends his time at the Badger Centre where he is a volunteer, supposedly working on his PhD, but actually spending his time bird-watching and clearing out the Small Native Mammals. With the opening of the cafe, Gilbert drifts in, finding it a welcome change from the library and the park. Then he gets a job on the dustcarts, and meets Mavis who enjoys haranguing the council. Meanwhile John Vir thinks of little else but Lucy and invites her to the cash 'n' carry, hoping it will be a prelude to carrying her away...