In Australia, twenty-four year old Tim Melville knows that he is mentally slow. Working as a handyman/gardener, Tim knows how to use basic equipment such as lawn mowers. But he does not read, his blue collar parents, Ron and Em Melville, having taken him out of school when he was a teen. He also does not understand such concepts as death, tears of joy, marriage, and the different types of love. Because of his disability, Tim is often taken advantage of. Seeing Tim work at the house next to hers, middle-aged ex-pat American businesswoman Mary Horton hires Tim to do odd jobs around her garden and her house. That association blossoms into a deep friendship, which Ron and Em foster as they ask Mary to look after Tim during circumstances to which they would rather not expose him. Mary also wants to understand fully what Tim is capable of and nurture his learning to the full extent of those capabilities. However, many other people, without having conclusive facts, see Mary as taking advantage of Tim sexually. As Tim does fall in his concept of love with Mary and Mary does indeed fall in love romantically with Tim, Mary will have to decide whether to cross the social line which many have already accused her of doing. What may happen to their relationship if Ron and Em were ever out of the picture is also a question that arises as Tim's parents face health issues. This question becomes all the more important as Tim's sister, Dawnie, and her husband are among those who do not approve of Mary.—Huggo