Teacher Alfie has been in hospital for months after losing his leg in a car accident. He keeps everyone’s spirits up in his ward. When a new patient arrives in the bed next to him, he is told that she refuses to see or speak to anyone.
Workaholic Alice was badly burnt in a late-night fire at her office building and can’t see how she will ever be able to get her life back on track. Alfie can’t resist chatting to her through the closed curtain and over time, the pair forge a close bond without even seeing one another.
This is a different sort of love story, woven into a tale about life-changing injuries, recovery and hope. Alfie as a Pollyanna-type character was nicely contrasted with Alice who could not come to terms with her physical and mental scars. However the story did need me to suspend disbelief that a hospital system could have its beds so squished together that patients could reach out and hold each others’ hands.
