Eight children carved their names on the copper beech tree at Shancarrig school Now grown up, it is the school which has made them what they are From Ryan's Hotel to Barna Woods, from the sweet shop to the church, life in the little town is placid and uneventful on the surface, but peel away the layers and all sorts of unexpected things come to light Dreams and pretensions, loves, jealousies and ambitions all play their part in this community, where conscious life begins in the schoolhouse, and where everyone thinks they know all about everyone else