Tom Shift & Oliver Keele are pen-pals. They were introduced through their cancer clinics. From reading Oliver's letters, Tom has deduced that Oliver is lonely & somewhat nomadic. He appears to live hand to mouth at a series of cheap B&Bs. When Oliver suggests they meet up, Tom agrees. Neither of them have long left. While Saltwash seems an unlikely kind of place for a holiday, he goes with it. The Castle Hotel is one of the few places still open in an off-season seaside town that has definitely seen better days but it's surprisingly busy. It becomes clear that the guests are all there for some kind of reunion, & that they know Oliver. Little by little it becomes clear that all the guests have dark & troubled histories. They are drawn to the hotel not just for the company & nostalgia but for the opportunity to win the lottery. Which for them, is the chance to have the memoires of their wrongs to be eradicated.
