First published 2015
The streets of Ulster echo with gunfire and the threat of bombs as Catholic and Protestant extremists wage their brutal campaign for control of Northern Ireland. Ordinary citizens wake each day knowing that a trip to the market or a walk to work might end in violence. Taylor follows multiple characters as they try to maintain normal lives while sectarian warfare tears their communities apart. A mother worries about her children walking to school past army checkpoints. A shopkeeper watches his neighborhood transform into a battleground. Young people fall in love while their families belong to opposing sides of the conflict. Each person must choose how to respond when violence arrives at their doorstep. The characters struggle with loyalty, survival, and the question of whether peace can ever return to their homeland. Taylor shows how political extremism destroys the fabric of daily life, forcing decent people to make impossible choices between safety and principle.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, contemporary, political-thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Northern Ireland, Ulster
Period: 20th-century
286 pages · Kindle Edition · Forge Books
Content warnings: violence, war