Growing up in the 1950s in Kilnagree, a small village in Co Clare, Rose lives a quiet life. Working part-time in the local pub while helping her grandmother at home, Rose's only ambition is to marry a decent local lad in Kilnagree.

In Offaly, Rose's pretty, precocious cousin Hannah is hiding dark secrets. Dreaming of the day she can flee her vicious-tempered mother, Hannah finds a welcome escape in Kilnagree where she is the life and soul of the party.

Lenora Bentley, whose daughter lives in Kilnagree, finds peace and tranquility when she visits Co Clare. A wealthy widow, living in a large empty house in Dublin, Lenora is nursing a wound that refuses to heal.

Will Rose find happiness in Clare or do her fortunes lie elsewhere? Will Hannah break free from her mother and her own dangerous behaviour? And will Lenora ever be able to let her guard down to enjoy a full life again?