Delia Bennet has made a living writing a series of hugely successful modern household guides, with advice on everything from laundry to lovers The one thing she hasn't ever given advice on is her own situation barely forthy by dying To prepare her family, she tries everything from writing lists to teaching her daughters to make the perfect cup of tea What she really needs is a household guide the kind she is expert at writing She sets to work But the writing forces Delia to confront painful ghosts from her past there is a journey she needs to make, and one last vital thing she must do