Frangipane the Tortoise

Barney Richards is 37 years old. He lives with his mother in a provincial town. One night at the local discotheque he bumps into Gavin, an old acquaintance, who is doing well in the capital. Suddenly, inexplicably, Barney begins to feel inadequate - as though life has somehow passed him by. But who is responsible? Who is to blame? God, his mother, himself or the innocent-looking tortoise living in the back garden?