Alice, the daughter of a wealthy innkeeper in Kilkenny, grows up watching her mother wither under the constraints of family responsibilities --- and she vows that she will never suffer the same fate. In time, she discovers she has a flair for making money, and takes her father's flourishing business to new heights. But as her riches and stature grow, so too do rumors about her private life. By the time she marries her fourth husband --- the three earlier are dead --- a storm of local gossip and resentment culminates in a life-threatening accusation.

Oona grew up on the island of Inis: a wind-blasted rock off the coast of Ireland. There, the men went out on fishing boats and the women tended turf fires, the only book was the Bible, and girls stayed at home until they became mothers themselves. Even as a child, Oona knew she wanted to escape island life, but she never could have anticipated the tumultuous turn of events that would ultimately compel her to flee. Twenty years later, after Oona has forged a new, very different life for herself, her daughter vanishes, forcing Oona to face her past in order, finally, to be free of it.