A chance meeting through the unsavoury village shopkeeper Jago Peters sees the beginning of an unfathomable relationship between the loutish teenager Frank Frear ("That's 'fear' with an additional 'r'") and the younger, sophisticated Marcus Healan. A decade later the ruthlessly ambitious London-based Marcus invites Frank to assist him in establishing himself as numero uno in the cut-throat world of publishing, resulting in the two creating their own "bestseller" wherein fourteen unsuspecting souls (who previously "did them wrong") become unexpected Valentine's Day "gifts" delivered to their respective present day partners, lovers, companions or work colleagues on the actual day. A teaser of "things to come" are the grisly displays involving seven of the fourteen "donors" who - in poses reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch's unpalatable The Apocalypse - are randomly discovered by an understandably shocked Joe Public. Whether such munificence leads to a happy or a surprise ending, only Marcus or Frank know the answer.