A Polish migrant, David Tasma, is dying from cancer in post-war London. Cut off from home and family and feeling his existence has had no value, David develops an intense and elusive relationship with his social worker, Cicely Saunders. The two explore questions of compassion, faith, love and the meaning of a completed life. An idea grows in Cicelys mind about a new way to care for someone who is dying in distress. A fleeting encounter between two people of hugely different social backgrounds leads to fundamental changes in how we care for people at the end.
