Author Description

The backyard of Saoirse and Daisy's house can be a perilous place: boys down the street leave unwelcome 'presents' at the gate and they have to rush indoors and shut the windows tight when marchers pass, even on the hottest days. And while there is respite to be had at Antonini's Ice Cream Parlour and in their mother's bedtime stories, the walls of the house cannot protect this family. Ten years later in rural Ireland, Saoirse is dreaming again: of her prom night, of her future, and of the wayward but handsome Johnny Mahon. But, as she learns to her cost, she has still not fully escaped the fallout of that unforgettable Belfast summer a decade before.