In Ayrshire, Scotland, in the year 2012, wealthy 85-year-old Veronica McCreedy lives in isolation on her estate called Ballahays. She is a divorcée with no known relatives and is tended to by a housekeeper named Eileen. Veronica is morose and has few interests in life but enjoys watching nature programs on television. One evening, she stumbles across a show hosted by the debonair Robert Saddlebow. It is entitled The Plight of Penguins, and Veronica finds herself intrigued by the endangered creatures. After the program ends, Veronica considers opening a locked box of mementos that Eileen unearthed in the storage room.

The following day, Veronica walks out on the beach and collects trash as she goes. She feels an obligation to leave the world better than she found it. Back at home, she finally braces herself to open the little memento box. Inside, she finds a locket engraved with the letter “V.” Inside are strands of hair from four people. The sight of the keepsakes makes Veronica sad, so she closes the locket. Also inside the box are two diaries that she wrote when she was 15.