Katie, the 14-year-old daughter of a travelling family, is left in charge of an ailing mother and her nine brothers and sisters in Dublin whilst her father is in England seeking his fortune.

When an aging ex-IRA man is found dead, a Garda inspector suspects the involvement of his old comrade, now a powerful politician and industrialist. But pursuing the case is likely to have consequences for both the policeman and his family.

When his father becomes a bomb victim, Jimmy leaves Belfast for his uncle’s farm in remote west Ireland. But even here there are links to the past.