Jimmy Grimble is a shy Manchester school boy. At school he is constantly being bullied by the other kids, and at home he has to face his mother's new boyfriend. However, through football, and some special boots, he manages to gain the confidence to succeed and leads his school football team towards the final of the local schools cup.

Orphaned the previous Christmas young Goose looks after his demented grandma, selling stolen goods to soft-hearted fence Frank on his Manchester estate. One Christmas Eve Goose meets Anthony, an enigmatic, fey stranger with apparent psychic powers, able to tell by touching them what people have lost, from Frank's first edition of Oscar Wilde to a retired doctor's wife. Hoping that its return will lead to him finding his lost dog, Goose persuades Anthony to help him retrieve a bangle he stole and ends up meeting the wife of his probation officer, whose young daughter died on the same day as Goose's parents. But Anthony is not what he seems to be at all and is capable of changing everybody's life for the better when his true identity is revealed.

In 1962, Patricia Neal and Roald Dahl retreat to the English countryside to bring up their young family. The seemingly unlikely pair find their relationship put to the test by a tragic loss.