Cockroft, a faded composer and socialite, lives in self-imposed exile and fantasies about true love and extravagant suicides. Rattling about his dilapidated farmhouse in the Italian countryside, subsisting on a trickle of royalties from past successes, his only constant source of company is the ever loyal Timoleon Vieta - a mongrel with the most beautiful eyes. However, when a handsome but surly individual - known only as the Bosnian - arrives unexpectedly, the strong bond between Cockroft and Timoleon Vieta is put under strain.
