When young Pear arrives at Kopolka's mental asylum on theday of his mother's death, he is summoned to a cavernous midnight rendezvouswhere he meets Mystery, an enigmatic patient with a penchant for philosophy. Heis soon tricked into her service which, at first, requires little more thanhelping her torment a school tyrant and retrieving a shipwreck for a seaboardshelter. All seems well, particularly during his sojourns to the mollifyingWater, a fantasy, underwater world in which he finds himself a whale in thecompany of erudite octopus Mr Octaveley. Soon, though, he discovers thatMystery harbours dangerous delusions of her own and, as the price of replacinghis mother becomes ever more challenging for his shy, quiet nature, the linesbetween reality and fancy begin to shake. The question is, will Pear let themcrumble or can he fight back?