The novel falls into two halves with the action alternating between the present day and Ireland in the 1920s and 30s. Dublin 2001 - Alison and Charlie are a young, upwardly-mobile couple expecting their first baby. While she lives the suitably glamorous life of an advertising executive, he mirrors her success with a car business he has started from scratch. The birth of Charlie's son, whom he names Michael after his long-lost father, starts him wondering about his past. When Alison stumbles across some old papers and effects belonging to his mother, the ball is set in motion. His errant father is tracked down, and Charlie is re-united with him before his death. Meanwhile, Charlie's grandparents, Marie-Therese and Cormac, a sergeant in the local Garda, play out their courtship, marriage, and the birth of their son Michael, against the tense political atmosphere of Ireland in the 1920s. This is a novel with a strong emphasis on family. The book is sharply observed and character-driven, but the humour of Hayes's previous two novels is played down, and there is a new, mature touch to the writing. Hayes concerns herself with issues of pride, especially male pride, and both Cormac and Charlie suffer some sort of set-back or breakdown in the course of the novel.