The novel unfolds the life of Roland Baines, beginning when he is ten years old. His father, Captain Robert Baines, a working-class Scot with wartime injuries, is stationed in Libya during the Suez Canal crisis, where Roland and his mother, Rosalind, join him. Robert is an outgoing but underconfident man with a violent streak and a penchant for heavy drinking, creating a complex dynamic with his family.
As World War II erupts, Roland is sent back to England for education at a special state boarding school for military and government workers’ children. Despite his mixed experiences at the school, Roland, nearsighted and talented only in piano, struggles to find his place. Miriam Correll, a stern music teacher, becomes a significant influence, with a complicated relationship marked by discipline, sexual tension, and eventually, a passionate affair starting at the age of twelve.
Roland’s parents return to England, residing in Aldershot, but Roland remains at the school to pursue his piano studies. Miriam no longer instructs him, and he prospers under a male teacher. At fourteen, he excels in a school recital, a turning point marked by Miriam’s continued influence on his piano playing and their ongoing intimate relationship.
The narrative follows Roland’s teenage years, filled with regular visits to Miriam for both intense sexual encounters and piano instruction. At sixteen, Miriam proposes marriage, but Roland refuses, leading to their separation. Despite his exceptional talent, Roland abandons school, eventually seeking refuge with his half-siblings Susan and Henry, who care for him.
In the 1960s, Roland becomes an attractive young man, drawn to jazz and forming connections with various bands. Peter Morgan, an extroverted figure, becomes a friend, and Daphne, Peter’s wife, adds complexity to their relationships. Roland’s travels to East Germany, where he befriends a couple arrested for their love of Western music, lead to a severe depression.
Roland’s relationships with women remain short-lived, marked by his need for constant affirmation and his struggle to focus on a career. He eventually meets Alissa Eberhart, half-British and half-German, and falls in love. Alissa’s background involves her mother, Jane Farner, a journalist covering the White Rose group in post-war Germany.
The central event occurs when Alissa leaves Roland and their seven-month-old son, Lawrence. Roland raises Lawrence alone, scraping by with a job writing poems for greeting cards. The police suspect him of murdering Alissa, intensifying their scrutiny of his life. Despite Daphne’s insistence on reporting Alissa missing, she never returns.
Peter Morgan’s sale of the greeting card company leaves Roland with nothing, and Lawrence grows up happy but curious about his absent mother. Daphne divorces Peter, and Roland briefly becomes involved with Daphne before the relationship fails. Lawrence discovers his successful writer mother, Alissa, and their financial situation stabilizes.
Roland, despite jealousy and resentment towards Alissa, struggles through middle age, playing jazz piano at night to sustain his house. He eventually forms a bond with Daphne, who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. After her death, Roland’s struggles continue, with Lawrence finding solace with Alissa’s parents.
The narrative takes a darker turn as Roland is approached by the police, linking his wife’s disappearance to a possible childhood attack. Instead, Roland seeks out Miriam Cotterell, who offers a self-serving defense of their past. Daphne’s death results in a violent encounter with Peter Morgan, leaving Roland injured.
In the final chapters, Roland gives Lawrence the money from Daphne’s house, slowly declining through the pandemic. He rereads his journals, resentful of the police’s refusal to return them, realizing he will never truly overcome the traumas of his past. Lawrence’s health concerns are dispelled, but Peter Morgan emerges unscathed, now a member of Boris Johnson’s cabinet.
As Roland burns his journals, he visits the dying Alissa, reminiscing about their past. Lawrence remains unforgiving, portraying a complex and unresolved family dynamic. Roland reflects on his life, acknowledging both the wreckage caused by Miriam’s abuse and the indirect benefits. The novel concludes with Roland choosing not to be bitter about his tumultuous journey.