Set in the 1960s, the plot revolves around the people of a rural Irish town named Mountfern. Patrick O'Neill, an Irish-American businessman, settles with his children in "the land of his ancestors" in order to build a luxury hotel on the site of a derelict mansion. While many of the town's residents are excited about the project's impact on local employment, one of the town's pubs, run by John and Kate Ryan, which is located directly opposite the planned hotel, is threatened with closure by O'Neill's scheme. The novel explores the relationships between the O'Neill teenagers and the Ryan children, as well as the lives of a large cast of secondary characters. As construction crews begin working on the project, Kate Ryan is seriously injured at the site, and the entire town is negatively affected by the unfolding events.