April 1981 The hunger strike has been underway for a month and Northern Ireland is in more turmoil than usual. Brendan learns his mother is dying so returns to Derry under an assumed name to see her, only to find that she is still antagonistic to him. His younger sister, Maeve, is caring for her while also working for peace; his younger brother, Rhuari, is married and keeping himself as much out of the back and forth with the Army, as possible; while his youngest brother, Kieran, is gleefully in full-on confrontation with them. What is worse, his older brother, Eamonn, is in prison and being pushed to add his name to the list of hunger strikers. Brendan stays to help Maeve, who is stretched to her limit, trying to keep as low a profile as possible. But his mother’s ramblings while under the effect of Percocet raise questions about his father’s past, leading him to a new possibility as to why the man was murdered. Then Bobby Sands dies and Derry erupts in fury, and Brendan finds himself caught up in the chaos of the times.