Fiona Maye is a leading High Court judge, presiding over cases in the family court. Renowned for her fierce intelligence, exactitude and sensitivity, she is called on to try an urgent case. Time is running out. For religious reasons, a seventeen-year-old boy is refusing the medical treatment that could save his life. She visits the boy in hospital - an encounter that stirs long-buried feelings in her and powerful new emotionsin the boy. But it is Fiona who must ultimately decide whether he lives or dies and her judgement wil have momentous consequences for them both. .