Jacques Poulin''s wonderful novel about a professional writer who composes and hand writes letters and documents for a living. He lives in the upper town of the old town of Quebec, in an apartment that shares a wall with Kim, a psychologist. The courtyard below Jacques'' rooms is a home to Pretty Cat, who sleeps in the tree. The writer becomes involved with Kim when she reveals to him that she has been beaten - by a lover or a patient, he does not know.