When Fionnuala Flood delivers her first child Moira, it's a very difficult birth, the memory of which will haunt Fionnuala always. More difficult for her to come to terms with is what Moira eventually reveals herself to be (at least in Fionnuala's mind): useless. Fionnuala can only breathe a sigh of relief when teenaged Moira finally flees Derry.

Twenty-five years later, third son Padraig is catching hell on the mean streets of the Moorside housing estate. Desperate to help, Fionnuala puts into motion her most audacious plan yet, a plan that will unleash a chain reaction which leads her straight back to Moira and the girl's shocking new scientist job in Switzerland.

Throw into the mix Fionnuala's arch enemies, Ursula and Jed Barnett, and you have a touching and uproarious darkly comic tale with a little science, a lot of family dysfunction and hopefully some reconciliation.

Contains the previously-released prequel A Difficult Birth.