Born in Ireland and living in Zurich, Mary is a beanpole with translucent skin, some freckles, blue eyes and blond hair. She has two admirers in Zurich: a writer and first-person narrator and his friend Helmut, letter writer and author as well. Yet she ends up with a service station attendant in distant Australia. It is here that she receives Helmut's ›Love Letter to Mary‹.